Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn WILL take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium tonight (Saturday April 26) but not everybody is happy about it.
The two sons of famous fighting fathers finally get the chance to settle their long-standing beef in front of a global PPV audience on DAZN and Sky Sports Box Office (ring walks are expected at 2200 local time).
It’s been a long and winding road to get to where we are now, and it started when their planned 2022 fight was called off due to failed drugs tests by Conor. He has since been cleared of any wrongdoing.
The intrigue in fight week though has all centred on the weight, this bout is set for 160lbs (middleweight) – lower than Eubank Jr’s optimal weight and two divisions up for career welterweight Conor.
Eubank misses weight
That intrigue became high drama on Friday evening when Eubank failed to make that 160lbs limit, coming in slightly over at 160.05 lbs. That reportedly cost him £375,000 by way of contractual fines.
The drama did not end there, with this fight also having a rehydration clause which meant both men could weigh no more than 170lbs when they hit the scales again on Saturday morning. This time Eubank Jr was slightly under at 169.4, with Benn comfortably so at 165.
Taylor fear as fight goes ahead
So the fight will go ahead, but not everybody is impressed by the news. Notably former undisputed lightweight world champion Josh Taylor.
The Scottish superstar has gone through hell himself in the past to make weight for big fights, and says he has paid the price on fight night.
He took to Twitter to share a Boxing News article which gave the inside story of Eubank Jr’s attempted ‘weight cut’ this week.
Alongside it, Josh wrote: “I think it should be called off. Eubank looked terrible & he has a rehydration clause chucked in there on top of that as well. I think this is potentially a very disastrous night for boxing waiting to happen. I desperately hope this is not the case.”
When is Eubank Jr vs Benn?
As we said, the bout takes place tonight (Saturday April 26) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London.
DAZN will begin its live coverage from 1715 local time with ring walks for the main event taking place at 2200 local time (2300 CET, 1700 Eastern, 1400 Pacific). You can get the full schedule and running order by clicking here.
