SO, Chris Eubank Jr. has missed weight. After settling at 160.05lbs on his second attempt on the scales at Friday morning’s ‘official’ weigh-in, he has also been hit with a reported $500,000 (£375,000) fine ahead of Saturday’s bad blood showdown with Conor Benn (156.4lbs).
That is, of course, not the last of it.
All eyes now turn to the fight day weigh-in for the 35-year-old, who must limit his rehydration to 170lbs or risk further financial penalties.
It is a grisly — if not unexpected — turn in the build-up to the already-controversial clash, with many pre-fight observers having voiced their concerns in recent weeks over the various weight stipulations surrounding both participants. Chris Eubank Sr., as is often the case, being the loudest among them.
The 58-year-old British boxing icon labelled his son “a disgrace” for his role in the now-infamous ‘egg slap’ in an ill-tempered build-up to Saturday’s encounter, but has also spoken at length of the risks attached to the cross-weight clash.
As well as enthralling the public with their two iconic fights in 1990 and 1993, both Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn, father of Conor, played their own part in tragic contests that left their opponents permanently damaged.
Eubank’s win over Michael Watson in September 1991 left Watson in a coma and with life-altering injuries. Four years later, Benn’s bout with Gerald McClellan would leave the American with extensive brain damage. He, like Watson, would never be the same.
The failure of Eubank Jr. to make weight is the latest in a series of red flags surrounding the bitter rivalry between him and Benn, 28, which has developed over recent years.
Their original meeting, due to have taken place in October 2022, was cancelled at the eleventh hour after news broke of Benn’s two failed VADA tests for the banned substance clomifene.
Despite the revelation, attempts were made by all parties to proceed with the bout, as planned – much to the outrage of the wider sporting public. Thankfully, common sense prevailed and the match-up was pulled.
Some two-and-a-half years later, Eubank Jr. and Benn prepare to do it again, and fighter safety has, once more, been thrust to the forefront of the pre-fight conversation.
For Eubank Jr., missing the contracted limit by just 0.05lbs (0.8oz) on a second attempt is starkly indicative of a man who has really struggled to make the weight. It now remains to be seen whether he adheres to tomorrow’s 170lbs rehydration limit, or whether he chooses to part with more of his reported £10m purse in a bid to aid his refuelling.
With the fight day weigh-in reportedly set for 8am, he will have approximately 14 hours until he is due to step in the ring. The question is, what state will he be in by the time he gets there? One can only hope that, irrespective of Saturday night’s result, both men make it out of the ring safely.
Live on DAZN, April 26 Eubank Jr vs. Benn. Over 30 years of rivalry and hatred all comes down to this! A bloodline born to settle the score, hatred in their blood. Eubank Jr vs. Benn, live on DAZN April 26.
