Ben Shalom proud of Chris Eubank Jr after enduring 'horrendous' issues ahead of Conor Benn bout

Ben Shalom says he couldn't be any prouder of his fighter Chris Eubank Jr after the Brighton & Hove star overcame 'horrendous' issues in the build-up to his pulsating points success over Conor Benn on Saturday night.

The BOXXER star managed to overcome an arduous weight cut and rehydration clause to edge a tight and dramatic showdown with long-term foe Benn, reigning supreme on all three of the judges' scorecards after 12 enthralling rounds of action at Wembley Stadium.

But while the victory further cemented Eubank Jr's legacy in British boxing and earned him the bragging rights over his nemesis, Shalom says that the very fact that his fighter managed to even go ahead with the fight in the first place represented a victory in itself.

"It has been an horrendous, awful time for Chris, and he will talk more in good time about that," he told Sky Sports.

"There was a couple of things that happened in camp - just things that most fighters would have never continued with the fight with.

"He didn't want to let anyone down and that was the genuine truth. He came through so much during that time, so the very fact that he even continued with his plans and went ahead with the fight is a victory in my mind.

There was (a chance that the fight could have been cancelled) because any normal fighter in Chris' position and what happened, they just wouldn't have gone ahead with that fight.

"It's nothing to do with weight or anything like that, but he did it, he came through it and he's a true warrior."

Shalom's revelation comes after the British Boxing Board of Control have announced that they are investigating Eubank Jr after reportedly breaking stringent rules regarding weight cutting.

The 35-year-old arrived two hours later than scheduled for his pre-fight weigh-in last Friday, tipping the scales two pounds heavier than the contracted 160lbs limit, before coming over a couple of ounces about at the second time of asking.

Eubank Jr was filmed in between his two weigh-ins donning a sauna suit in a bid to avoid the £375,000 fine that he incurred as a consequence of coming in above the agreed limit.

The fighter managed to adhere to his fight day conditions of adding no more than 10lbs on ahead of a second weigh-in on Saturday, but it appears as though he could still land himself in hot water with the BBBOC because of his decision to use an 'illegal' method of weight cutting.

"The problem arose because he was late for the weigh-in - if he’d have got there on time, considering he was only slightly over, he’d have made weight," British boxing chief Robert Smith said.

"I don’t know what they were doing. But by turning up late, it meant he had very little time to get down to the contracted weight.

"We had no concerns. Eubank was on track to make 160lbs and we keep records of previous fights, and the trajectory of his weight loss was very similar to how it’s been in the past.

"It is an ongoing matter."

Mark Mothershaw

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