Conor Benn will face Chris Eubank Jr in April (Image: Getty Images)
Conor Benn has turned up the heat with some fiery trash talk before his highly anticipated clash with arch-rival Chris Eubank Jr.
The rivals are poised for a blockbuster middleweight fight set for April 26 at the Stadium in London, three years after their first fight was cancelled when Benn failed a drug test.
After being cleared to reapply for his British Boxing Board of Control licence following a National Anti-Doping Panel decision that UK Anti-Doping must lift his temporary suspension due to insufficient evidence of doping, Benn, 28, is ready to settle scores.
He had been under scrutiny after two VADA tests indicated the presence of clomiphene, a banned substance, casting a shadow over his scheduled fight with Eubank Jr in October 2022.
Adding another layer of intensity, the rivals have agreed to a rehydration limit of 170lbs post-weigh-in, handing Eubank Jr a likely size advantage against Benn. With the battle drawing near, social media is expected to sizzle with their continuing war of words. Speaking on the Ariel Helwani and Ade Oladipo boxing show, Benn delved into the differences between this fight and their initial planned bout in 2022. “For me, this is way more personal,” he declared.
“It was commercial before, I mean it’s a massive commercial fight, but it’s way more personal. I don’t think I’ve ever felt hatred towards an opponent before. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to spitefully knock someone out before. I know people beg to differ with my fight style, but the reality is, I’ve been through a lot.”
“I was going through a lot at the time and for him to just carry on the way he did, I took it personally, and I still take it very personally. To be on the brink of suicide to coming through, to have him coming out with the remarks he was coming out with… which were lies! ” Benn’s feud has escalated, as he issued a stark warning: “All of it was lies and I take that very personally,” he added. “For me, I’m still here standing and breathing and feeling stronger than ever. So, without a doubt, I’m coming for his head.”
Recently, Eubank Jr slammed Benn and boxing promoter Eddie Hearn as ‘rats’ for attempting to impose a re-hydration limit for their planned fight. “Trying to enforce a re-hydration restriction on me to make the fight” were his fierce words. In retort, Benn exclaimed: “10lbs re-hydration because I’m already fighting a middleweight but you want to get in the ring at as a light-heavyweight? Making excuses already for when I staple you to the floor.”
Echoing the tensions, Chris Eubank Sr, in an interview with The Sun, held onto the hope that their bout would be called off while reflecting on their aborted 2022 encounter: “My son, if he had taken that fight where they tried to boil him down to 157, would have lost his life.” Following the loss of his son Sebastian to a heart attack in 2023, the concerned father emphasized the great personal cost such battles carry for him: “I lost Sebastian,” he admitted. “What do I say about losing another one? Nothing, I just pray.”