Chris Eubank Jr. didn’t threaten to pull out of his highly anticipated rematch with
Conor Benn.
England’s Eubank did, however, make it clear during his appearance on “Inside The Ring” on Monday that he is unhappy with certain terms in his contract for their second fight. Eubank (35-3, 23 KOs) and Benn (23-1, 14 KOs) are scheduled to box again November 15 in the main event of The Ring’s “Unfinished Business” card at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
Eubank beat Benn by unanimous decision April 26 in a 12-round middleweight match at the same venue.
Eubank, 36, and Benn, 29, signed contracts for two fights. Part of that two-bout agreement was a rehydration clause that prohibits either fighter from weighing more than 170 pounds, 10 above the contracted limit, at second-day weigh-ins the mornings of their fights.
The 5-foot-11 Eubank, who has competed as high as the super middleweight maximum of 168 pounds, weighed exactly 160 on April 25. The 5-8 Benn, who had never boxed above the junior middleweight limit of 154, came in at 156.
Eubank expressed his discontent with the rehydration cap both before and after their first fight. Ben Shalom, Eubank’s promoter, has repeatedly deemed rehydration clauses unsafe and called for such restrictions to be eliminated from boxing.
Though he brought up the topic, Eubank wouldn’t specify to “Inside The Ring” co-hosts Max Kellerman and Mike Coppinger which contractual terms haven’t satisfied him as their rematch nears.
“These are not easy waters to navigate,” Eubank said. “You know, the final contract for this fight hasn’t actually even been fully agreed on. So, you know, there’s still a few things that we’re gonna try and smooth out and make right.”
The elusive Eubank declined to elaborate when Kellerman asked for a clearer explanation.
“Yes, we agreed for a second fight before the first fight,” Eubank said. “But there are certain parts of the contract that are still up for negotiation. I’m not gonna go into what parts of those contracts they are, but we are in negotiations for certain things. So, it’s up to me and my team to get the best deal.”
The bitter British rivals will headline a DAZN-Pay-Per-View show in the UK (£24.99) and the United States ($59.99).
New episodes of
premiere each Monday on DAZN at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT).
Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.