British boxing fans have eagerly awaited the confirmation of the match between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr, which according to reports was ‘started’ on 8 October at the O2 Arena in London.
The war will rekindle the rivalry between two families led by their father 30 years ago. Given the size and history of the competition, it is almost certainly the first UK pay-per-view event for broadcaster DAZN.
boxing commentator, Gareth A. Davies, the first to confirm the teams are in talks and even assumed the war was ‘signed’.
Davies was talk on TalkSport:
“I’m happy to say that this fight is on.”
“I don’t make it public because I don’t have the privilege to do so, but I understand this war is sealed.”
Eubank Jr is of course the bigger man with most of his fights in the middleweight (160lbs), while Benn competes in the Welterweight (147lbs).
With a weight of 156 lbs apparently agreed, rumors have been circulating that the issue of keeping notice is down to the rehydration clause in the contract – such a provision would not allow Eubank to become significantly heavier on the night of the fight.
While talking to IFL TVDavies stepped back slightly from his original position that the fight was ‘signed’, but still expected the match to go on:
“It might crash at the 11th hour, you never know. But I think they’re really seriously looking to make this match and it’s the one that will capture the British public’s imagination. “
“I think we can understand it too [the fight announcement] this week, if not the next. “
Another Conor Benn division fight rumored to be about to be announced, is the undisputed Welterweight clash between Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford.
For many die-hard fans, this is the ‘fight’ to be fought in boxing. However, Davies made a brilliant prediction that the all-England shootout would yield ‘more numbers’ than the p4p two-star battle:
“Is it a mainstream crossover war? None of those people really promote hard. They are great characters, they have great stories, but does it really hit the mainstream? “
“Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr will probably make more numbers than them [Spence vs Crawford]. “
