Chris Eubank Jr. (32-2, 23 KOs) and welterweight Conor Benn (21-0, 14 KOs) is close to having a deal done for a catchweight fight at 156 lbs on DAZN PPV on October 8th at the O2 Arena in London.
Having the fight at a 156-lb catchweight could weaken Eubank Jr enough for Benn to defeat him. Eubank Jr. has fought at 168 for most of his career, and he’s looked weaker since moving down to 160 in 2019.
UK boxing fans will probably love the Benn vs. Eubank Jr fight, but it’s not a great one. This is a business-level fight, as Eubank Jr. isn’t a major player at 160 and never did anything at 168.
It would be impressive if Benn were to fight one of the talented 160-pounders from this list rather than the washed Eubank Jr:
- Jermall Charlo
- Gennadiy Golovkin
- Janibek Alimkhanuly
- Demetrius Andrade
Benn would likely lose to all of those fighters, even with the assistance of a strength-draining catchweight handicap.
It’ll be hard for Eubank Jr. to maintain his power if he drops down an extra four pounds to 156, but that’s the whole point behind using a strength-draining catchweight for Benn. It levels the playing artificially by giving Benn a handicap in a fight he could lose if the contest were held at 160 or 168.
Although Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn denied that the 32-year-old Eubank Jr is the next opponent for Conor, the Dailystar is reporting that this fight is happening.
Fans had hoped that Hearn would negotiate a fight between Benn and former welterweight champion Keith Thurman next, as that’s a match-up would resonate worldwide.
Unlike Eubank Jr, who looks shot at this stage of his disappointing career, Thurman is a former world champion and still has a little left in the tank at 33.
Hearn’s decision to go in the direction of Eubank Jr. for Benn rather than Thurman could be a move to ensure that he keeps winning. Benn is a money-maker despite never having fought anyone you can call a quality fighter during his career, and if Hearn puts him in with Thurman, that will wreck things.
Eubank Jr. is beatable for Benn, as long as he doesn’t get caught with one of Chris’ big left hooks.
Placing Eubank Jr-Benn on DAZN PPV would only make sense if it’s just for the UK audiences because you can’t ask U.S boxing fans to pay for this fight.
It’ll be interesting if the event organizers sell it on PPV in the States. If they only need a small number of buys from U.S fans to make it a success, they’ll be pleased.
“It is understood the two sons will meet at 11st 2lb (156lb), which is a catchweight between light-middleweight and middleweight,” said Chris McKenna of the Dailystar.
“Benn, 25, has never fought above welterweight (10st 7lb) while Eubank Jr, 32, has never boxed below middleweight (11st 6lb), so both fighters have had to compromise.”
