Father-to-be Chris Eubank Jr on keeping life private: ‘People can’t ruin what they don’t know’

Join the Miguel Delaney team: Inside Football Join the Miguel Delaney Inside newsletter to get exclusive access and unparalleled insight. Football Join the Miguel Delaney Inside newsletter Football newsletterChris Eubank Jr has opened up on the news that he is due to be a father to twin boys, while reflecting on how his relationship with his own dad may influence the next chapter in his life.Ahead of Eubank Jr’s rematch with Conor Benn on Saturday, the BBC has released a documentary on Eubank Jr and Sr, titled The Eubanks: Like Father, Like Son. And this week, a preview clip from the film showed the younger Eubank telling his dad that the latter will soon be a grandfather.While Eubank Jr’s focus this week is on doing the double over Benn, whom he outpointed in a thrilling fight in April, the 36-year-old spoke to The Independent and other publications about the news of his impending fatherhood.Acknowledging that the update has come as a surprise to boxing fans, Eubank Jr said on Tuesday: “My private life should be private, that’s how I have always seen it. What people don’t know and what people don’t see, they cannot target, they cannot ruin, they cannot try to interfere with. “There’s no benefit, in my opinion, to exposing private relationships to the world. What benefits are there? If you go out and look at all these high-profile relationships, how many of them last? How many of them don’t end up on the front page of The Sun? Cheating, scandal, divorce, whatever it is – social media does nothing but ruin relationships.“I saw that from very early on, I experienced it with my mother and father. Their split was very public, and it was hard to watch, and it was embarrassing. Everybody knew that my parents were getting divorced, and I knew from that age that, whatever relationship I got into, I wasn’t going to make it public. It’s unnecessary.”Open image in galleryChris Ebank Jr during an open workout before his rematch against Conor Benn. (Nick Potts/PA).Four days prior to returning to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where he defeated Benn seven-months ago, Eubank Jr also laughed. “Remember people thought I was gay at one point? Do you remember [former opponent] Liam Smith calling me gay?”He continued, “It’s not like I am hiding [my personal life], I just chose not to throw it out there,” And refused to answer a question about when and how he learned that he would be a father. Eubank Jr. played down the notion that fatherhood would bring his career to an early end, telling The Independent : “I don’t think so, I don’t think having children has any effect on my career. If anything, they will make me fight harder, because I know now that I have two extra mouths to feed.Enjoy 185+ fights a year on DAZN, the Global Home of BoxingNever miss a fight from top promoters. Watch on your devices anywhere, anytime.Buy NowADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.Enjoy 185+ fights a year on DAZN, the Global Home of BoxingNever miss a fight from top promoters. Watch on your devices anywhere, anytime.Buy NowADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.“Boxing is a dangerous sport, and you want to be there for your kids as they grow. These types of fights that I am in, they take a bit out of you – they take a little bit of your life out of you. It’s something to think about, but as of right now, I am in love with my life as a fighter, and I don’t see it coming to an end any time soon.”Speaking specifically about the BBC’s footage of Eubank Jr revealing the news to his father, he said: “I had to announce it sometime, I couldn’t just pop up with two kids on my shoulder. My birthday [in September] seemed like the perfect time to tell my father, and that was the scene that you saw on the BBC documentary.open image in galleryEubank Sr hoists his victorious son aloft after April’s win over Conor Benn (Bradley Collyer/PA)“He didn’t know. The cameras were there, I wanted it to be captured, so it was a beautiful moment that we can relive for the rest of our lives. The BBC has their schedule, so it had to come out. I found out a few months ago.”In beating Benn in April, Eubank Jr ruined his foe’s unbeaten record – more than 30 years after Sr and Benn’s father, Nigel, rounded out their own rivalry. In 1990, Eubank Sr stopped Nigel Benn, who fought his fellow Briton to a draw in 1993.Eubank Sr was an advisor to Jr earlier in the latter’s career, but their relationship fractured to the point that Sr was calling for April’s fight to be cancelled. However, he arrived at Tottenham at the 11th hour to support his son, in a captivating scene.Reflecting on Eubank Sr’s previous preference that his son would not box, Jr said: “I learned to have sympathy for his feelings by being around my nephew Raheem [son to the late Sebastian Eubank]. “When you fall in love with a kid, you start to understand that you don’t want any type of pain or harm coming to this human being. I had never felt love like that for anybody really, so that helped me understand my father’s feelings towards me.open image in galleryNigel Benn and Eubank Sr had a famous in-ring rivalry in the 1990s (Getty Images)“Will I push [my sons] into boxing? No. Would I want them to be boxers? I would not say that. [But] I would not stop, forbid or block them, like my father did for me. “You have some parents who push their kids into the sport – into all sports – but kids who get pushed into boxing… it is dangerous, because if a kid does not have his heart and mind 100 per cent in it, they can get hurt. I would never push them in, but if they want help, if they want to try it, I will be there to support.“I am sure they will sit down and catch [my rivalry with Conor Benn] on YouTube, because everything is documented now, and that is a wonderful thing. I am excited for them to grow and to learn what their father did.”Eubank Jr. added that he has a better relationship with his father. “It’s a massive thing to have him back in my life, especially now, because he is their grandfather and that’s a very important relationship. I hate to think that two years ago – when we hadn’t spoken for a couple of years – if I had a kid then, what would I do? Now I know he is accessible to me, it’s a great feeling.”
2025-11-14 19:00:00