Chris Eubank Jr opened the press conference with a speech about this being a battle between two bad guys of British .

The events before, during and after his press conference with Conor Benn offered plenty of evidence if you want to agree with the Brighton boxer. The media event to announce their April 26 date at Tottenham Hotspur ended with Eubank Jr cracking an egg violently into the side of Benn’s head before the stage turned into a sea of a security men with tempers flaring and even promoter Eddie Hearn pushing his rival Ben Shalom in the chaotic and ugly scenes.

It had competition for being the worst thing to happen in the few hours the media, the fighters, their teams and a handful of fans spent in the Manchester Central Convention Complex. Benn threatening a journalist in a roundtable interview was in contention for that honour, too. “If somebody starts asking me trick questions, I’ll throw you out the room, do you hear me? I’ll drag you by the neck outside.”

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Later on, Hearn would warn attacks are “on sight” when they meet again at a press conference at Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday. He warned that Nigel Benn was dangerous to approach. Glorifying violence at a meeting of the media was another low moment on this ridiculous evening.

It is all for a fight which is labelled Fatal Fury after a computer game sponsor for Ring Magazine’s first foray into putting on a huge boxing event. This is a contest that was going to take place two-and-a-half years ago at the O2 in London billed as “Born Rivals”. The title was much for fitting then than using the word fatal around a boxing match given the dangers of this sport.

It was a nod to the fact both are sons of British boxing icons in Chris Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn, who famously shared the ring twice in the days when boxing was front and back pages of newspapers for good and - often - wrong reasons.

Yet just days before that October 2022 clash, it emerged Benn had provided an adverse analytical finding for clomifene in a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association test. That sparked an attempt by Hearn and Kalle Sauerland - who was then promoting Eubank Jr - to keep the fight on despite the alleged offence.

It turned it into a national story and, unfortunately for them, it became almost as big as Benn and Eubank Sr were back in the 1990s. The following 24 months revealed another failed doping test, legal battles, temporary suspensions put in and lifted only to be put in again, different defences, conspiracies, fights abroad and more.

Until late last year, when the National Anti-Doping Panel said they were not “comfortably satisfied” UK Anti-Doping had proven an offence so Benn has been cleared to box in the UK again. There will be no more hearings. Unless there are future legal challenges. Benn won, UKAD lost.

Benn’s camp feel the matter has been dealt with and believe he has not been given credit for fighting his case and UKAD losing theirs. They want his reputation restored. Eubank Jr claimed his rival is now seen as a villain as much as he is but for different reasons. Yet there remain questions. Benn can release the details of the NADP hearing to give a clearer picture as to why the case was dismissed. He hinted he may do so at a later date but not now.

It is why the aforementioned roundtable turned heated earlier in the afternoon. Benn, Hearn and Nigel were present along with around 20 other people believed to be friends, family and team members which made it into an audience for a group of journalists looking to ask some of those questions that were needed. They were fairly put to the boxer but they were not well received.

It was when it was brought up that Benn may box under a foreign licence for the fight, which is allowed by the BBBofC, that it turned ugly and the previously mentioned exchange happened before the boxer later insisted on a hug as a way of apologising. This all occurred before the press conference which was even more farcical.

Eubank Jr, 35, would try to silence Hearn, then Benn, 28, would retort by pointing out Chris Snr was not there because he didn’t like his son and it all soon escalated into doping claims, counter-claims, denials about money owed to people like Neymar and general threats about what will happen come fight night.

The host Ade Oladipo, who had almost become redundant in proceedings, took a phone call from Turki Alalshikh, the head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and owner of the Ring Magazine, to make the whole event even more bizarre. There were claims about rehydration clauses and rematches, too.

All the while, Eubank Jr was concealing a half a dozen eggs in the designer jacket. That meant the face off that looked like it might pass without anything more than a few verbals thrown sparked carnage. Eubank Jr refused to do media interviews afterwards. He left the venue rolling a spare egg around in his hand, flanked by security while controversial advisor Mazhar Majeed - jailed over the Pakistan spot fixing scandal - walked out with him.

Benn left the venue later on in the evening and was captured on camera promising to “chin” his rival later this week. A face-off interview had to be cancelled on Wednesday. Yet, bizarrely, a press conference will go ahead on Thursday despite warnings from one of the promoters about “on sight” attacks. The BBBofC should be watching intently, if they are not already.