Chris Eubank Jr has spoken up after avoiding a fine for the rehydration clause ahead of his fight with Conor Benn. He came in just under the 170lb limit, at 169.4lb.
“Fight day weigh-in complete,” he wrote on social media. “Rehydration restriction is over. Now all that’s left to do is rock up to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium tonight & make history #EubankBenn.”
On Friday, Eubank Jr had weighed in first at 160.2lb, before tipping the scales at 160.05lb at his second attempt. That brought him a fine of £375,000, which goes to his opponent.
However, by coming in under 170lb on Saturday morning, he won’t get a second financial penalty. Benn was also within the 170lb limit, weighing in at 165lb.
The news comes despite apparent concerns from Eubank Jr’s cousin Harlem Eubank. “Tactical rehydration clauses is nasty business,” he said.
Benn and Eubank Jr will split a total of £15m with their meeting at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the seven-figure sum brought home by each man will represent the biggest payday of their respective careers. An initial fight scheduled for 2022 was postponed after Benn failed two drug tests, but he has always protested his innocence and has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
Eubank Jr has spoken about the “diabolocal” sum agreed following conversations with Turki Alalshikh. “He called me and said, ‘What do you want to make this fight?’ I’m sitting there thinking, ‘I’ve got to be a businessman now, and any good businessman in any negotiation, starts with an aggressively high number, then there are counter offers and negotiating and you get to the number,” he said.
”I gave him a diabolical number, I gave him an inconceivable number, and he said, ‘Done, I’ll send you the contract on Monday.’ I’m thinking I could have got more, or a couple of watches out of him!”
Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn will face off on Saturday, April 26, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Fans can order the fight on DAZN PPV for £19.95, which also comes with a DAZN seven-day free trial.
Saturday’s middleweight bout comes more than three decades after the two fighters’ fathers met with the WBO middleweight title on the line. On that occasion, Chris Eubank Sr handed Nigel Benn what was just the second defeat of his professional career via a ninth round stoppage.
The pair’s inevitable rematch followed at Old Trafford in 1993. It ended as a draw, allowing Benn to retain his WBC belt, and a third meeting between the pair would never materialise.
The Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn match-up comes with an intriguing undercard. Chris Billam-Smith will take on Brandon Glanton at 6pm, followed by Viddal Riley vs Cheavon Clarke, Liam Smith vs Aaron McKenna and Anthony Yarde vs Lyndon Arthur, followed by the main event from around 10pm.
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