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Queensberry promoter Frank Warren has opened legal proceedings against Chris Eubank Jr for defamation.
The case was filed by Warren on December 23 and listed under “Media and Communication: Defamation – libel and slander”, according to the HM Courts and Tribunals e-filing service.
The 72-year-old Hall of Fame promoter has filed the case following a press conference on September 25 during which Eubank Jr labelled him a “scumbag” and stated that he had been “lying and cheating his way through boxing for the last couple of decades”.
Eubank Jr declined to comment when contacted by The Athletic.
The press conference was held to promote an October card in Saudi Arabia headlined by light-heavyweights Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, who were battling to become the first undisputed light-heavyweight world champion since Roy Jones.
As part of the undercard Eubank Jr was lining up against Poland’s Kamil Szeremeta in his first fight for over a year, after stopping Liam Smith in September 2023.
It was also Eubank Jr’s first fight as part of the Boxxer promotional stable, led by Ben Shalom. Asked during the press conference why he had chosen to sign with them, Eubank Jr responded: “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 hundred thousand a few years ago, so obviously I was never going to go with him, the guy is a scumbag.”
He went on to also call out Wasserman promoter Kalle Sauerland, saying “he had me locked up in a terrible contract for the last few years – squeezing money out of me at every opportunity,” and Matchroom promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Smith who he also labelled “scumbags” for their efforts to ensure Eubank Jr’s scheduled fight against Conor Benn in October 2022 went ahead despite the latter testing positive for a performance enhancing substance.
Following the press conference Eubank Jr shared a video of his comments on social media, with the caption: “Just telling it how it is”. But shortly afterwards, he released a statement saying he wished to retract his “inaccurate statements” and offering apologies to Warren, Hearn and Sauerland.
Warren, Hearn and Smith all strongly hinted at the possibility of legal recourse at the time. “I’m gonna keep it short and sweet. He’s gonna get sued again for the comments that he’s made publicly,” Warren said. Hearn said: “It will be dealt with” while Smith added: “Everyone can say what they want to say, but you have to obviously deal with the comeback of that.”
Warren later released a statement accepting the apology and retraction and looking ahead to the “huge Riyadh Season card” the following month.
The night went ahead without any further controversy between the two — and Eubank Jr emerging victorious from his comeback fight — but two months on, Warren has clearly decided that Eubank Jr’s apology was insufficient to cover the claims made and is suing the 35-year-old for a second time.
The first came in 2016 when Eubank Jr, British middleweight champion at the time, pulled out of a fight against his mandatory challenger Tommy Langford, citing an elbow injury.
Warren had won the purse bid to stage the contest and had documentation to prove that Eubank Jr had signed his part of the deal. Eubank Jr was later ordered to pay significant costs and damages worth a six-figure sum to Warren.
(Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
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