Rematch between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn reset for Nov. 15
Sequel to top fight of year candidate originally announced for Sept. 20
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The rematch between fierce middleweight rivals Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn will take place on Nov. 15 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Turki Alalshikh announced on Tuesday night.
In June, Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, president of the Saudi Boxing Federation and owner of The Ring magazine, initially announced that the rematch would take place on Sept. 20.
However, while Benn was on board for that date and expressed excitement, Eubank remained silent about it and was unwilling to fight in September. Now, he has apparently come around given the latest announcement of the fight, which will be promoted by Saudi Arabia’s SELA.
Eubank outpointed Benn 116-112 on all three scorecards in their raging and leading fight of the year candidate on April 26 before an announced sold-out crowd of 67,484 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a fight also backed by Alalshikh.
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The long-awaited April showdown between the bitter rivals took place 32 years after their fathers, Chris Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn, former middleweight and super middleweight titleholders and legends of British boxing, fought to a draw in the second fight of their epic 1990s rivalry.
Their sons also fought 2½ years after they were set to clash on Oct. 8, 2022 only to have the bout canceled during fight week following the disclosure that Benn had failed a drug test for a banned substance.
After Benn served a suspension and a new deal was made there was an intense buildup to the fight, which featured not only sustained action, a wild atmosphere and culminated with the 12th round as a leading round of the year candidate, there was also Eubank family drama.
Eubank Sr. arrived at the stadium unexpectedly with his son despite years of estrangement but having secretly patched things up in the days before the bout. He took his place at ringside, as did Nigel, and the sons did them proud as they produced a searing battle that immediately took its place as the leading fight of the year candidate and earned a place as one of the all-time great fights in British boxing history.
The contract for the April fight contained an automatic rematch clause regardless of the outcome with the sequel having to take place by the end of 2025 and under the same terms as the first fight. That meant at the middleweight limit of 160 pounds but with Benn’s team insisting also on a weight check on the morning of the bout at which neither man could weigh more than 170 without severe financial penalties.
Eubank was apparently unhappy over the weight terms for the rematch. It remains to be seen if anything about the weight limit or the re-hydration clause has been renegotiated for the new rematch date.
The reason for the weight check on the morning of the bout was an accommodation to the smaller Benn (23-1, 14 KOs), 28, who has fought primarily at welterweight and was moving up to middleweight to fight Eubank (35-3, 25 KOs), 35, who has taken part in several super middleweight bouts.
While Eubank accepted the terms he struggled to make the weight. He weighed in at 160.05 pounds, which cost him a $500,000 penalty. Then he was an hour late to the weight check on the morning of the fight but was able to come in inside the 170-pound limit.
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not needed
Benn wins the rematch