Chris Eubank Jr has taken to the scales to prove his professionalism for a fight that nearly was.
In the lead up to his fight with Conor Benn, all eyes were on Eubank Jr. He was required to weight in at a number he hadn’t seen since he was around 18 years old. 157lb is 3lb lighter than he usually competes at, and 11lb lower than the super middleweight limit he’s fought comfortably at, too.
The fight was sensationally pulled on Thursday following news that Benn had been found to have traces of a banned substance in his system. The test, administered and reported by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency, came to light for the public on Wednesday. Shortly after, the British Boxing Board of Control prohibited the fight in a damning public statement.
So, no fight tonight. Despite that, Eubank Jr still decided to take to the scales today to prove all the doubters wrong. He spent the build up eating KFC, birthday cake, and Salt Bae steak – but none of it stopped him being well within the much-discussed rehydration clause.
If I say i’m going to do something I do it #RehydrationClause#EubankJrBenn#60PercentBaby#100PercentCleanpic.twitter.com/uX8OGuJOT0
— Chris Eubank Jr (@ChrisEubankJr) October 8, 2022
Whilst the rehydration clause – the amount of weight a competitor is allowed to put on between the weigh in and the morning of the fight – was never made public, it was said to be around 10lb, with 9lb a solid guess given the information we had. If that was the case, Eubank Jr would be well within the contracted limits to face Benn.
His video proved that, despite any mind games in the lead up, Eubank was approaching the fight like a true professional.
Whilst it’s unclear when, or even if, the fight will be rescheduled, one thing’s for certain – there won’t be as much speculation on the bigger man’s ability to make weight.