Chris Eubank Jr needs to ‘cut umbilical cord’ with dad and get full-time trainer, insists Nigel Benn
Benn was the arch-rival of Jr's father Chris Eubank Sr in the 1990s and has his own son Conor to cheer on in the sport
CHRIS EUBANK JR has been told to "cut the umbilical cord" with his father if he is to fulfil his boxing potential.
The Brighton boxer fell to the second defeat of his professional career last weekend when he was comfortably outpointed by WBA super-middleweight champ George Groves.
And Nigel Benn, who was famously the arch-rival to Jr's father Chris Eubank Sr, has told the young pretender to move out of his dad's shadow.
And he more than anyone should know what it's like for a young boxer following in famous footsteps.
Nigel's son Conor is making his own way in the sport, and is currently undefeated in 11 fights.
Speaking on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast on talkSPORT this morning, Benn said: "I’m not going to gloat, I’m really not going to gloat, because I feel that Eubank Jr is a quality fighter.
"But the difference [between him and his father] is, he’s limited.
“I don’t know how many punches he throws in a second or whatever, but the difference is he never used a jab, no movement, nothing.
GIVE US A CRACK Top British hope fancies getting in the right with Tyson Fury
“And I’m watching his dad training him and I think ‘oh, that’s not it’.
“Me and my son Conor, we met Eubank Jr three years ago when we were in Brighton training at Scott Welch’s gym.
Most Read In Boxing
"And I said ‘You’ve got to be your own man, you cannot emulate your dad, you can’t jump over him. Be yourself, be who you are. You’ve got to cut that umbilical cord, mate.’"
Despite Eubank Sr never being far from his son in his fights, pressers and training, Jr insists he 'trains himself', which drew more criticism from Benn.
He added: "You look at Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, they all had trainers, you need trainers.
"I guarantee you if I had him for 6-8 weeks, he would be a different fighter."