Eubank Jr. Agrees Terms; Benn Yet To Decide!
Chris Eubank Jr. has reportedly agreed terms for a fight with Conor Benn, leaving the ball in Conor’s court.
The fight was first talked about in 2022 for a 157-pound catchweight. It raised a lot of controversy since Benn was moving up two weight divisions. Meanwhile, Eubank was moving down to a career lowest at 157 pounds. The fight never went ahead after Benn failed VADA tests for Clomiphene. Benn was adamant that he was innocent. UKAD subsequently suspended him. The boxer was then involved in a legal battle that lasted over two years.
The National Anti-Doping Agency has now removed his suspension. UKAD will also not appeal, leaving the door open for a Eubank fight. Benn must apply for his British Boxing Board of Control licence. But in the meantime, a fight with Eubank is closer. Shalom says Eubank has agreed to a 55-45 split. That reflects his position as the A-side. Eubank also has the upper hand in negotiations after Benn’s failed VADA tests.
Shalom Reacts
“We’ve worked wonders. You ask anyone, they can even see it, this isn’t even close to a 50-50 fight, so the fact he’s managing to compromise on that is hugely generous from him. I’ve done my job, and now it’s time for them to be sensible. The fact they’ve already got us down to that shows how well we’ve done. If the fight doesn’t get made now, then we know what it is,” Shalom said
The ball is now in Benn’s court. His manager, Keith Connolly, has said other options are available to him, such as Mario Barrios and Gervonta Davis. A fight against Barrios would be for the WBC Welterweight Title. That would be the biggest fight for Benn from a career point of view. Benn has never won a world title. Barrios is also coming off a split draw against Abel Ramos on the Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson fight. That was not his best performance, giving Benn an opportunity to strike while the iron is hot.
What’s Next?
Conor is also ranked number two in the WBC rankings, making him a credible name. The other option is to revisit a Tank Davis fight. Reports indicated Eddie Hearn had made a $15 million offer plus PPV earnings for a Davis-Benn fight. Tank allegedly turned that offer down. But Benn and Davis still had plenty of bad blood on social media. Tank has also said that he wants to retire next year. He is set to face Lamont Roach Jr. on May 1, meaning he has two fights left. A fight with Benn could do some good numbers in the United States, given Conor’s controversy. As of now, Benn’s manager says that the Eubank fight is not likely next.
“The Conor Benn, Chris Eubank fight doesn’t look like it’ll happen next. My plan is to talk to Eddie Hearn this week to proceed with negotiations for Conor to fight Mario Barrios next, then target a huge PPV event in America against Gervonta Davis. There’s actually more money in the Gervonta Davis fight for Conor anyway,” Benn’s Manager (as per Mike Coppinger)
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