Chris Eubank Jr has apologised and retracted his comments about several top British boxing promoters, including Frank Warren, Eddie Hearn and Kalle Sauerland.
During the launch press conference for the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol fight on Wednesday afternoon, the Brit stunned the boxing community for his verbal rant on the three promoters, where he labelled them as 'scumbags.'
"Why [have I chosen to sign with] Boxxer? Because every other promoter out here is a scumbag – that’s why," he said. “We’ve got Frank Warren behind me, he has been lying and cheating his way through boxing for the last couple of decades. He sued me for a couple hundreds of thousands a few years ago, so obviously I was never going to go with him, the guy is a scumbag.
“Kalle Sauerland, he had me locked up in a terrible contract for the last few years – squeezing money out of me at every opportunity – scumbag. Eddie Hearn and Frank Smith – they did everything that they could to try and make this fight against Conor Benn still go ahead – scumbags."
The only people Eubank Jr. praised was His Excellency, Turki Alalshikh, and Ben Shalom. “I would say that the only promoter that I know for sure isn’t a scumbag is His Excellency, Turki Alalshikh," he added. The middleweight star is hoping for a big end to 2024 ahead of the new year, where he aims to secure fights with some of the biggest names in the sport.
This comes after he was reportedly in talks to face Canelo Alvarez. The Brit has also flirted with the idea of rematching Billy Joe Saunders as well as finally facing off with Conor Benn. Later on Wednesday, Eubank Jr issued a statement withdrawing his comments and also issued an apology to the three promoters he targeted.
It read: "Following today's press conference for the historic Riyadh Season on October 12, I would like to retract my inaccurate statements and offer my apologies to Frank Warren, Eddie Hearn and Kalle Sauerland. I now wish to focus purely on boxing and preparing for a huge fight in Riyadh next month."
Warren responded in a statement: "I accept Chris' apology and retraction. I too have said things before and apologise to him also if any criticism of him has upset him in the past. "I look forward to seeing him compete on this huge Riyadh Season card. We look ahead to some potentially massive bouts in the future."
Both Eubank Jr and Warren have history, with the latter suing the boxer for breach of contract, winning money in damages. The middleweight star's quarrel with Hearn comes from the fact that he promotes his bitter rival Benn. The 35-year-old is scheduled to return to the ring for the first time in over a year when he takes on Kamil Szeremeta on the Beterbiev vs Bivol undercard.
