Chris Eubank Jr. was hospitalized following his April 26th win over Conor Benn and despite the debunked indications by Benn and promoter Eddie Hearn that this was due to a broken jaw, Chris Eubank Sr. would reveal the actual cause: dehydration.
Explaining the circumstances on his social media channel, Eubank Sr. clarified the reasons Eubank Jr. was absent during the post-fight press conference:
“He suffered mostly in the hospital due to dehydration, even though the beating was severe,” Eubank Sr. said. “That’s why he was in such discomfort for 24-30 hours.“
While fighters tend to get hospitalized after fights, regardless of whether they win or lose, Eubank Sr.’s assertions of most of his issues stemming from dehydration again puts the spotlight on Eubank Jr’s own decision to agree to the rehydration clause in his contract.
According to Eddie Hearn, Eubank had negotiated his contract with The Ring, the April 26th event’s main sponsor, rather than with Matchroom, which draws numerous questions surrounding The Ring’s ability to negotiate contracts as a non-promotion, and the reasoning for The Ring stipulating the rehydration clause in the first place.
Conor Benn himself had revealed he had only asked for a smaller ring ― which was ultimately another contributing factor towards Eubank Jr. ending up in the hospital as he was forced to engage with Benn up close due to the ring’s size.
With the contract between Eubank Jr. and Benn being in essence a two-fight contract, Eubank Jr. would be faced with the same strenuous problems if the fight were to occur at middleweight (160 lbs) given Eubank’s struggles in making weight and the brutal process he had to undergo in doing so.
Under these circumstances, it would be more suitable for Chris Eubank Jr. to fight at super middleweight (168 lbs) henceforth, but this would likely collapse a rematch between him and Benn given the latter would fight in a weight class not suited to him ― and this would deviate from the agreement between the two fighters which signifies the rematch will be held under the same parameters as the first.
While a second fight between the two would curtail plenty of interest and ensure both fighters’ pockets were filled, at the same time it would put Chris Eubank Jr. and his health in jeopardy and further confirm the sport’s continued neglect of fighters’ health in the pursuit of profit, rather than seeking to balance both.
