Promoter Eddie Hearn said Chris Eubank Jr’s loss to Conor Benn may have been his last fight last Saturday night. He believes the 36-year-old Eubank Jr. (35-4, 25 KOs) may retire after losing a 12-round unanimous decision at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Benn’s win comes with asterisk
Hearn says he believes the first fight last April took a lot out of Eubank Jr. took, which changed him for the worse. He says that Benn (29) is getting “better”. Interestingly, Hearn fails to mention the role the double whammy of the weigh-ins played in the outcome. Benn has a disability in place which helped him win, which Eubank Jr. weakened just enough for him to secure victory. It’s not much of a win when a handicap is required.
The double weight trap
Eubank Jr. not only did he fight one division below his usual 168-lb weight class at 160, but he also had to deal with the 10-lb contractual rehydration clause to go along with it. These two items undoubtedly played a significant role in the result.
If the shoe was on the other foot and Benn had to melt from 147 to 140 to take on Gary Antoine Russell with a 10-lb rehydration clause added into the contract for good measure to weaken him nicely, this would be a nightmare situation for Conor.
What if Conor faces the same cut?
We’ll see how much “better” Benn really is if he sticks around to deal with a double weight stipulation to weaken him. Would he prevail against Antuanne Russell under those conditions? I’d say it’s a big no.
Benn secured his victory with the help of the weight decisions, winning by scores of 118-109, 117-110 and 116-111.
If Hearn doesn’t want to prove his theory about Conor Benn “better,” he would let him stay at 160 to fight the truly talented fighters without a rehydration clause.
The middleweights Benn has to fight
- Janibek Alimkhnuly
- Carlos Adams
- Yoenli Hernandez
- Erislandy Lara
It will be fun to see how much “better” Conor Benn really is if he fights the A-level middleweights rather than the career underachiever Eubank Jr.
Eubank Jr. is not considered one of the top middleweight fighters. He is a fighter who has faced exclusively domestic and European level opponents throughout his career. Check out Eubank Jr’s record. There are no high level fighters he has beaten, unless you want to mention high level Liam Williams and Liam Smith.
Hearn pulls the retirement card
“I said when I was involved in the fight, tonight could be his last fight, but who knows what the future may hold?” promoter Eddie Hearn said at the post-fight press conference about Chris Eubank Jr. after his loss to Conor Benn in London.
“The performance tonight was unbelievable. It didn’t matter if Eubank was better tonight, we were still winning the fight,” said an in-form Hearn. “But that first fight, when you go through a fight like that, it can change you forever. But it didn’t change Conor Benn. It just made him better.
Last updated on 16/11/2025
