Paulie Malignaggi has weighed in on next weekend’s huge clash between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn – and believes the fight is little more than an attempt to earn some quick cash.
Malignaggi, speaking on ProBox, did not try to play down the size of the fight, however stated that the numbers would be fuelled by “casual fans” who did not truly understand or realise the difference in weight between Benn and Eubank.
“It’s the kind of fight that will transcend and even have casuals watch it. The good thing about casuals is they have no clue about what weight classes are, no clue about the little details. They’ll just hear the names Benn and Eubank and they’ll watch the fight.”
“For me it’s just a big-time money grab. The fight to me is not that interesting due to the difference in weight classes, but of course there’s a curiosity to it – sparked by the fans in the UK, which for me are the best fans in the world.”
Malignaggi is referring to the fact that Benn, a welterweight, is having to jump up 10lbs to 157lbs for the fight with Eubank Jr, who has campaigned as high as super middleweight. However, many observers believe this will be counterbalanced by the fact Eubank, at the age of 33, will have to cut down 3lbs lighter than he ever has before.
‘Next Gen’ has been keen to put across the image that the weight cut is not a problem, posting videos on social media of him indulging in various treats and takeaways over the past couple of weeks.
With a clause of a financial penalty for every lb Eubank misses weight by – rumoured to be around £100,000 – you’d imagine the cheat days have been cut out by now.