By Barry Holbrook: Negotiations for the October 8th fight between middleweight Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn are being held up by the disagreement on the rehydration clause for their 156-lb catchweight fight at the O2 Arena in London.
If it gets made, the Eubank Jr vs. Benn fight will be streamed on DAZN pay-per-view. Both fighters will make a lot of money from the clash, which is ideal for both.
Eubank Jr’s career has stalled since his loss to George Groves in 2018, whereas Benn’s has failed to launch due to the overly careful match-making being done for his benefit by his promoters.
The Daily Star reports that Benn and Eubank Jr (32-2, 23 KOs) haven’t agreed on the second-day weigh-in limit.
For Eubank Jr, a fighter that competed at super middleweight from 2017 to 2019, it makes sense for the rehydration limit to be as close as possible to 170 lbs to prevent him from being weakened.
It’s already hard enough on the 32-year-old Eubank Jr that he must melt down to 156 lbs to accommodate Benn with a catchweight handicap.
Eubank has never fought that low before during his 11-year professional career, so it will not be easy for him. For his part, the welterweight Benn (21-0, 14 KOs) hasn’t fought above 147 during his short six-year pro career.
Also, Benn has never competed against a top 15 contender and has been matched against older, weaker fighters without much pop in their punches.
If Eubank must limit how much he gains back after the weigh-in on Friday, a day before the fight, he will be weakened if the secondary weigh-in is too low.
“The pair have agreed to an 11st 2lb catchweight, but they are now in disagreement over how much weight they can put on between the weigh-in on Friday and the day of the fight,” said Chris McKenna of the Dailystar.
“Those involved remain confident the issue will be sorted, and the fight will go ahead as hoped on October 8 at the O2 in London.
If the Eubank Jr-Benn fight can’t get made, Matchroom Boxing may look to bag former WBA/WBC welterweight champion Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman as the opponent for Benn.
Beating old ‘One Time’ Thurman would be a massive scalp for Benn to add to his collection and would put him in the pole position to capture one of the four 147-lb titles once they’re vacated by the winner of the undisputed welterweight match between champions Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford.
Eubank Jr’s options for his next fight would be less interesting than Benn’s, as his promoters will likely match him against former WBO junior middleweight champion Liam Smith. That fight would interest some boxing fans, but it’s nowhere near the level of a clash against Benn.
Conor Benn has recent victories over these fighters:
- Chris Van Heerden
- Chris Algieri
- Adrian Granados
- Sebastian Formella
- Samuel Vargas
- Steve Jamoye
