The core differences between institutions in the United Kingdom and United States have fully come to light after Chris Eubank Jr. was fined £100,000 by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) for slapping Conor Benn with an egg on February 25 during their Manchester press conference.
The two fighters are set to battle it out on April 26th at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to stage a bout that was originally set to occur in October of 2022. The upcoming event will be regulated by the BBBofC.
In a statement released by the BBBofC, the governing body indicated that Eubank Jr. had been in breach of one of their rules regarding conduct, hence the fine:
“Following a hearing before the stewards of the British Boxing Board of Control, Chris Eubank Jr was found to be in breach of regulation 25 (misconduct) for his conduct at the press conference in Manchester for the Chris Eubank Jr v Conor Benn contest on 26th April 2025.
“As such, the stewards of the board fined Chris Eubank Jr the sum of £100,000.“
Though this decision was protested by Eubank’s promoter, Boxxer founder and chairman Ben Shalom, who regarded the fine as “extremely over the top and ridiculously out of all proportion” and hinted at Eubank appealing the fine, though given Eubank was clearly in breach of the rules it is unlikely any appeal will bear fruit.
Since the slap, Chris Eubank Jr. has explained his motives for slapping Conor Benn with an egg on social media:
“Apparently egg contamination was the reason for his two failed drugs tests. So I contaminated him with an egg.“
Notably, Conor Benn and his promoter, Matchroom chairman Eddie Hearn, had at first staunchly denied the consumption of eggs as the reason for his failed drug tests after the WBC “cleared” him [in the sense that Benn would be allowed to retain his position in the WBC’s rankings as sanctioning bodies don’t have the authority to clear fighters for anti-doping violations] by claiming Clomiphene had entered his system through the consumption eggs.
Months later later, Benn would reverse his original stance and claim that it had indeed been eggs that culminated in his positive PED tests.
While the BBBofC shows consistency by applying and enforcing their own rules, this indirectly reflects badly on the state athletic commissions in the United States following an incident earlier this week that saw Teofimo Lopez slap future opponent Arnold Barboza Jr.
In the USA, state athletic commissions regulate boxing similarly to the BBBofC but each commission applies their own set of rules that has allowed unprofessionalism to reign unchecked.
The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), under whose jurisdiction the March 10th press conference where Lopez and Barboza were at odds fell, is not expected to fine any of the fighters for their unprofessionalism ― with Lopez’ slap having come as a direct result of Barboza ripping Lopez’ hat from his head.
While the BBBofC has shown plenty of faults, the jarring reality appears to be that state athletic commissions in the United States are not thoroughly suited to regulate combat sports; as evident by how several controversies of the “Fatal Fury” press conference will not be addressed by the relevant institutions in the United States ― illustrating boxing in America is an entirely entertainment-based commodity not concerned with the reputation of the sport.
