Chris Eubank Jr breaks silence on trainer's firearm charges after airport arrest
Chris Eubank Jr has spoken up for the first time since his trainer Brian 'BoMac' McIntyre was arrested and charged with two firearm offences following his win over Liam Smith.
The boxer had just put in a career-best performance against Smith, stopping him in the 10th round, when hours later armed police descended upon Manchester Airport to arrest his trainer. The following day, he was charged with possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition for a firearm without a certificate.
McIntyre was remanded into custody after attending Stockport Magistrates Court on September 4, and is next due to appear at Manchester Crown Court on Monday, October 9. And speaking last night on The MMA Hour, Eubank Jr finally addressed the situation directly.
"He's still in the UK, he's being held in the UK," Eubank Jr said. "I can't talk too much on it because there's a lot of legal stuff going on right now. I still don't even know how it happened, why it happened, it's a crazy, crazy situation. I have no idea how it's going to play out, we're just going to pray that you can get him out of there and get him back to where he's supposed to be."
Speaking more broadly about his relationship with McIntyre earlier in the show, he had vowed to stick with McIntyre as a trainer after enjoying his experience in camp for the Smith fight. The pair linked up when a scheduling conflict ruled out Eubank Jr's regular trainer Roy Jones Jr, and the fighter was impressed with how different preparation was for the bout.
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"He's a great trainer and he has a great team around him," Eubank Jr told host Ariel Helwani. "I've never had a team before, I know that sounds insane but it is the truth, I've trained myself for many, many years and when I did have trainers it was just one guy. I trained with Roy Jones for a few years, he was supposed to train me for this fight but he couldn't do it.
Chris Eubank Jr has spoken out after the arrest of his coach Brian 'BoMac' McIntyre"But it was just Roy, he didn't have a team. BoMac has strength and conditioning, the nutritionist, another pad man, two pad guys actually. There's a whole community around you and I was watching fights for the first time with the team, breaking things down and strategising, I'd never done any of this stuff before.
"Most of my career was I'd watch a couple of fights of the guy on YouTube and I would just go in the gym, train, [say] 'alright get me this guy to spar, I'm going to do this many rounds on the bag,' I would just control everything. This was the first camp where I really just let go.
"I said, 'Alright you guys tell me what to do and I'm just going to do it'. It was nice, it was a relief - the mental pressures of preparing for a camp were taken off of me, I didn't have to schedule things, they just had everything in place. That was great so shout out to 'BoMac' and I think that's going to be my guy for the foreseeable future."
With regards McIntyre's arrest and subsequent charges, Greater Manchester Police said in a statement earlier this month: "Officers were called to reports of a possible firearm being found in hold luggage by airport staff at Manchester Airport. GMP officers attended, and the firearm was seized.
"Subsequently, a 53-year-old man was arrested for possession of a firearm and was taken to custody for further questioning. Brian McIntyre from the United States of America was charged with possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition for a firearm without a certificate."
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