Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3, 25 KO’s) has some bones to pick with his management team after he was reportedly fined $500,000 for coming in overweight by 0.05 lbs during today’s unofficial weigh-in leading up to his upcoming April 26th match against Conor Benn (23-0, 14 KO’s). Their fight is set at middleweight (160 lbs).
Coming in at 160.05 pounds in his second and third attempts, the condition in Eubank’s bout contract stipulated he would be fined if he came in heavier than 160.02 lbs. The first attempt saw Eubank Jr. weigh in at 160.2 lbs.
While the fine is obviously steep based on the number of pounds ― with 0.05 being roughly the same weight as a tablespoon of sugar ― he came in, it was a condition that he agreed to when signing the contract. Most bout contracts are ironclad in this regard, with the fine’s amount based on what was agreed as the excess weight within the contract.
The process does appear skewed against Chris Eubank Jr. given Conor Benn’s past transgressions in regards to performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), with Matchroom further having clearly put an emphasis on protecting Benn as much as possible given he will be moving up two weight classes ― though technically one given Benn has competed at super welterweight (154 lbs) in his last two bouts.
The official weigh-in will occur later this day, expected to be late in the afternoon or in the early evening, though the morning weigh-in that Eubank Jr. recently went through was also a stipulation of the contract he signed.
Chris Eubank Jr. has made a wave of questionable contractual decisions in the lead-up to his fight with Conor Benn, with his latest fining for coming in overweight by 0.05 pounds the result of inefficient management when it comes to negotiations when taken into account other concessions he allowed including fighting in a smaller ring.
With Chris Eubank Jr.’s father’s, Chris Eubank Sr., scathing rebuke of his son having reverberated through the news over the past couple of weeks, it further adds perspective on the situation as Eubank Jr. revealed during a recent interview that he had been explicitly warned about the rehydration clause and the fight he chose to undertake against Benn:
“[My father said] don’t take the fight, you shouldn’t be fighting, you shouldn’t be doing this rehydration clause and the weight cut,” Eubank Jr. revealed to iFL TV yesterday.
“It’s dangerous. You shouldn’t be hitting him across the face with an egg is his [Eubank Sr.’s] new reason for him not accepting this fight. Again, these are all things I can’t let affect me. I can’t pay attention to these things because the fight is going to happen and if I pay too much attention to it then it’s going to affect me negatively.
“Father or no father, I’m going to get in the ring and somebody’s going to try to hurt me. I’ve got to be in the best shape mentally to avoid that. So that means I have to block all the noise, all the negative narratives that have been going on.“
Eubank Sr.’s warnings are compounded with the fact that Eubank Jr. has genuinely seemed to be struggling to make weight, marking his father’s words as almost prophetic following his latest fine and the ordeal he put himself through.
In comparison to Eubank Jr., Conor Benn comfortably weighed in at 156.4 lbs.
