The controversial and dangerous issue of weight cuts surrounding Saturday night’s fight between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn has intensified after the former missed two attempts to make the 160lb middleweight limit on Friday morning. The 35-year-old Eubank initially scaled 160.2lb and then, after he tried for a second time, 160lb 0.8oz.
That marginal amount of 0.8oz will not force a cancellation of the bout but Eubank Jr has been fined $500,000 (£375,000) for failing to make the stipulated weight.
The closed weigh-in had been scheduled for 11am on Friday but Eubank Jr arrived more than an hour late. Benn, who is 28, had already stepped on the scales at 156.4lb. His weight-cut was far less stringent as he usually campaigns in the 147lb welterweight division while Eubank Jr has fought as a super-middleweight where fighters have to meet a 168lb limit.
Eubank Jr now faces the added complication of an additional weigh-in on Saturday morning. Both fighters are subject to a rehydration clause which means that they cannot add more than 10lb after today’s weigh-in. Benn will be unaffected but, for Eubank Jr, it severely compromises his recovery.
At Thursday evening’s final press conference. Benn had taunted Eubank Jr about the pain he would suffer during such a harsh and unhealthy weight-cut.
The contrived bout between fighters who are usually separated by at least two weight classes has been criticised vehemently by Chris Eubank Sr who, over the last few weeks, has called his son “a disgrace” and demanded that the fight should be stopped.
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Peter Hamlyn, the renowned neurosurgeon who has operated on multiple boxers threatened with brain damage, told the Guardian last week that: “Unless you’re fit, which includes being properly hydrated, you shouldn’t be boxing. And if you’ve engineered a situation where somebody isn’t fully fit, it’s not a sensible idea.”
In a separate interview, Eubank Jr said: “They are paying me a separate fee to restrict my weight gain and rehydration. I was never going to do it for free.”
When told of Hamlyn’s concerns, Eubank Jr stressed that: “I understand and accept the risks. I am a man that enjoys a challenge, even a dangerous one. I believe my skills are far superior to Conor’s, so I can give myself the disadvantage of restricting my rehydration. But the doctor you spoke to is absolutely right. I probably shouldn’t be doing it. But we are the daredevils of sport. We do things that we shouldn’t do. This is not a normal life we are living, punching each other as hard as we can in the head and body.”
Asked what might happen if he chooses not to honour the rehydration clause, Eubank Jr added: “I can change my mind at any time but it will cost me a substantial amount of money. I don’t want to lose $1,000,000 [£751,000] so I’m pretty sure I’m going to stick to it.”
