Conor Benn has confirmed that an ill-fated fight with Chris Eubank Jr is off for February 3 and that it will ‘definitely not’ happen in the future.
Last October, the match-up was pulled during fight week due to a banned substance found in Benn’s system. After returning to the ring in summer, and despite grievances on the part of the British Board of Control, his team were confident it could be rescheduled for early next year at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
This time around the issue comes down to money. The undefeated welterweight told Boxing Social that Eubank was asking for ‘silly money.’
“I can see the fight happening with me and Chris in general. The money he wants is silly. Bearing in mind he’s getting paid silly money, career-highest payday to fight a welterweight, and he’s lost his pen. Would I want to fight me if I was him? Probably not.
He’s at the end of his career. He asked the WBO to remove him from the mandatory position cause he doesn’t want to fight Janibek [Alimkhanuly.] I think that sums him up. I’m gonna move forward with my career, there are plenty of big fights circulating for me and Feb third the show goes on. We have opponents lined up.”
“Will the fight happen in the future? Definitely not. I won’t wait around for it.”
Eubank Jr’s promoter Kalle Sauerland also spoke to Boxing Social on the matter, confirming that an agreement could not be reached with Matchroom and Benn.
“Obviously the fight hasn’t been made, so we move on. Couldn’t find a commercial agreement around the fight, not really much more to say from my side.”
What’s next for each man is expected to be announced soon now that this long and frustrating saga has come to end without a fight to speak of.