Conor Benn signs for his fight with Chris Eubank Jr (Image: undefined)
Conor Benn has thrown down the gauntlet to arch-nemesis Chris Eubank Jr after the pair have resolved to clash in the ring, putting an end to their long-standing rivalry.
With recent talks heating up at the Ring Magazine awards attended by both fighters and their promoters, Eddie Hearn and Ben Shalom, the fight has now been signed and will take place at middleweight on April 26 at the Stadium
Taking to X – the platform formerly known as Twitter – Saudi boxing honcho Turki Alalshikh announced: “Eubank Jr vs Benn done in April, London, by the name of (Fatal Fury City of the Wolves). Soon I will announce the day and the location, it will be The Ring’s first card in collaboration with the video game and SNK, and I will push to make PPV price £19.99 for the fans, with tough undercard…Lets get boxing great again and wait for huge announcement soon.”
Not long after Alalshikh made the revelation online, Benn took to the platform with a terse but potent message for Eubank Jr, posting: “You are done @ChrisEubankJr.”
Over the years, the weight at which Benn and Eubank will fight has been a point of contention. Benn has established himself in the welterweight division (147Ibs), while Eubank fights in the middleweight division – two weight classes above his rival. However, both fighters have agreed to a rehydration clause of 170lbs post weigh-ins. This means that Benn will move up to the middleweight limit to face Eubank Jr, giving the latter a significant advantage.
Earlier this week, Eubank Jr lashed out at Benn and boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, branding them ‘rats’ for “trying to enforce a re-hydration restriction on me to make the fight”. Benn swiftly retorted: “10lbs re-hydration because I’m already fighting a middleweight but you want to get in the ring as a light-heavyweight? Making excuses already for when I staple you to the floor.”
Recently, Benn was given the green light to reapply for his British Boxing Board of Control licence after a National Anti-Doping Panel ruled that UK Anti-Doping must lift his temporary suspension as they were not “comfortably satisfied” a doping offence had occurred. The boxer was under scrutiny following two adverse analytical findings in VADA tests for the banned substance clomiphene, a fertility drug with performance-enhancing benefits.
The 28-year-old’s failed drug test emerged just days before his scheduled clash with Eubank Jr in October 2022, setting them on a bitter collision course. The animosity has deep roots, mirroring the historic rivalry between their fathers, Chris and Nigel, who famously battled it out twice three decades ago.
Since the cancelled fight, Benn has stepped into the ring twice, securing victories over Rodolfo Orozco in Florida in 2023 and Peter Dobson the previous year. Meanwhile, Eubank Jr faced a stunning upset at the hands of Liam Smith in January 2023 but redeemed himself by winning the rematch nine months later.
His most recent triumph was a brutal seventh-round knockout of Kamil Szeremeta in Riyadh last October. The tension reached boiling point when Benn stormed the ring after Eubank Jr’s victory over Szeremeta, leading to a heated exchange that required security intervention. Eubank Jr, aged 35, taunted: “Speaking of easy ones. This is the fight everyone wants to see. Sign the contract. There’s nothing to fear here.” Benn retorted: “After that performance? I can beat him on my worst days.”