Chris Eubank Jr: ‘I had to have eye surgery’ after ‘headbutt’ in Conor Benn fight

The 35-year-old spent two nights in hospital following his victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Chris Eubank Jr says he underwent eye surgery following his gruelling points victory over bitter rival Conor Benn after being “headbutted”.

Eubank spent two nights in hospital following his win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday (26 April), with his promoter Ben Shalom rejecting Benn’s claims that the 35-year-old had suffered a broken jaw.

Shalom said Eubank had gone to hospital for “precautionary checks”, but the fighter has now revealed he had surgery on a damaged eye.

“When you get into a fight for 12 rounds, there are injuries that are sustained,” Eubank told Sky Sports. “I got headbutted above my eye around the middle of the fight. It opened up and I had to go and have surgery on that to sew it up.

“Conor Benn and [his promoter] Eddie Hearn ran away with the story of a broken jaw. There’s no broken jaw here. We are strong, our bones are dense.

“When you’re in a fight like that, you have to go to hospital. You have to get tested and looked after, but I’m feeling good and grateful that the fight was so well received.”

Chris Eubank Jr celebrates victory

A beaten Conor Benn on Saturday

Eubank has yet to commit to his next career move, with a September rematch against Benn or a showdown with Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez being potential options.

“Watch this space,” Eubank said over a possible Benn rematch. “Boxing is a very beautiful industry where anything can happen. The possibilities are endless.

“If the rematch is meant to be, it will be. If not, there’s plenty of amazing fights to be had and great things for me to achieve in this sport.”

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

On the possibility of meeting Alvarez, who defends his super-middleweight titles against William Scull on Saturday, Eubank said: “That is another stadium filler, absolutely.

“Wembley, Tottenham, any one of the large football stadiums in the UK will be filled for a fight like that. He is an opponent I’ve been looking at for many years now. The fans would love to see that, and we will be doing whatever we can to secure that fight in the future.”

Chris Eubank Sr

Eubank was reunited with his father, Chris Eubank Sr, before his victory over Benn, after the pair had supposedly been estranged for years.

Eubank Sr had criticised the match-up with Benn – the son of his bitter 1990s rival Nigel Benn – but shocked fans by emerging from his son’s car at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before the fight.