Chris Eubank Jr. was remarkable in gaining weight for his fight against Conor Benn on Saturday, despite it having been postponed.
The sons of British boxing legends Chris Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn were set to meet at London’s O2 Arena, but Conor tested positive for banned substance clomifene.
Each team was made aware of the test for more than a week before it was reported in media.
Eubank Jr. and his teammates sought medical advice. The boxer ultimately decided to continue with the fight.
After the information was made available, however, the British Boxing Board of Control released a statement in which they stated that they would not divulge the information. Interdiction it from taking place.
Benn’s promoter Hearn and Eubank Jr’s promoter Kalle Sauerland attempted to force a U-turn over the next 24 hours, but were ultimately unsuccessful.
On Thursday afternoon, they Confirmed that the fight was off.
Prior to all of this, the main talking point surrounding the fight was Eubank Jr’s weight.
The 33-year old has spent his entire career fighting at middleweight (160 lbs) and supermiddleweight (168 lbs).
For this bout he agreed to weigh 157lbs in order to meet Benn – who is typically a welterweight (147lbs) – at a catchweight.
Eubank Jr. also signed a rehydration agreement for a second weight limit that he had to meet on the fight day.
The exact number for this was never confirmed, but Hearn said it was “around 10lbs”.
Eubank Jr would then have to be approximately 167lbs for fight day.
Surprisingly, he took to social media on the day that the fight was cancelled to show that he would have done it comfortably.
He posted a video of himself weighing 159.3lbs and captioned it: “If I say i’m going to do something I do it #RehydrationClause #EubankJrBenn #60PercentBaby #100PercentClean.”
