The Telegraph’s boxing correspondent Gareth A Davies has stated he believes coming down in weight is the main cause for concern for Chris Eubank Jr ahead of his huge fight with Conor Benn on October 8th.
In an interview with Boxing Social, Davies stated that he believed the catchweight of 157lbs, a weight Eubank Jr has never made before, could allow Benn to have success in the later stages of their historic meeting at the 02.
“The jeopardy for Chris is that he’s seriously got to lose some weight, and he can’t go up more than 5 or 6lbs I understand from the 157.
So, he’s going to be really tight at the weight – and Benn can come on strong in that fight if Eubank doesn’t hurt him early.
It’s a fight I’m fascinated with.”
Eubank Jr himself, however, does not appear to believe the weight is a worry. The 32-year-old was spotted eating a bucket of KFC chicken at the KSI vs Swarmz card at the weekend, and has been adamant that, while the cut will prevent him from being 100% on fight night, he’ll still have enough to deal with Benn easily.
Due to the disparity in size between the two men – with Benn being a welterweight and Eubank Jr having fought at super middle – the weight issue is one that has been of hot conversation. A clause enforcing a fine of $100,000 per 1lb over the agreed limit is reported to exist in the contract, and many have speculated that Eubank may intentionally forego some of his purse in order to enter the ring in peak condition.
With both men fighting for their families’ legacies as well as their own, it should hardly come as a surprise to see them strive to gain every advantage possible – be that through takeaway fuelled mind games, or on the scales.