London Calling For Round Two? Turki Alalshikh Sets Sights On September Rematch Between Chris Eubank Jr. And Conor Benn At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Turki Alalshikh aims to arrange a rematch between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn for September at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, following Eubank’s 12-round unanimous decision victory on Saturday night.
Alalshikh wants the rematch to happen in September if they’re not injured and can go then. September might be too early. Eubank Jr. suffered a lot of facial swelling, and so did Benn (23-1, 14 KOs). Promoter Eddie Hearn expressed worry about Conor being worn down from another fight.
Rematch Quest
He’s open to the idea of a rematch, but he also questions whether it’s a good idea for Benn to jump into another grueling fight against a bigger fighter. Hearn mentioned wanting Eubank Jr. to come in lighter for the second fight.
“If they’re not injured and ready, we want the rematch in late September at Tottenham. The British fans were amazing and I thank them,” said Turki via Mike Coppinger.
He didn’t say how much below the 160-lb weight limit he would want him to agree to, but as close to 154 as possible is likely what he’ll push for. If Hearn can get Eubank Jr. to agree to the catchweight, he can include another 10-lb rehydration clause to prevent him from rehydrating overnight like we saw with this fight. The coup de grace would be to insist that Billy Joe Saunders be allowed to watch Eubank Jr’s hands being wrapped.
“To see now the response of him basically becoming the people’s champion, and a lot of people thought he won. Some thought it was a draw,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to iFL TV about Conor Benn after his loss to Chris Eubank Jr. tonight.
As far as I can tell, there are only a few fans who think Conor Benn won the fight. On social media, those fans are rare. It was impossible to miss how Eubank Jr. took control of the fight in round four and swept every round from that point on.
The CompuBox punch stats support this claim. Eubank Jr buried Benn with volume after taking the fight to the inside. He took away Benn’s ability to use his speed and power advantage, forcing him to try and match his punch output, which he’s not physically designed to do.
Eubank Jr. is one of those special fighters who can throw tons of punches without tiring. You can’t mimic that. You have to be born with it.
Hearn’s Pride
“I don’t know if the majority of the people think Eubank Jr. edged it. After what I saw here tonight, I could not be prouder of that kid. We live for fights like that,” said Hearn.
He’s proud of Benn now, but if he loses the rematch with Eubank Jr. in an even more one-sided fashion, he may start to lose some interest in him. Hearn was still basking in the afterglow of Benn’s performance at the post-fight press conference. He was talking about how he can capture world titles at 147 and 154, but not naming the champions he could beat to win those belts. I don’t know of any champs in those weight classes that Benn could beat.
“The British public loved his dad [Nigel Benn] because he was full of heart and full of spirit and a never-say-die attitude,” said Hearn. “That’s what you saw from Conor Benn tonight. He should be loved and he should be adored. The fight got better and better. I thought Conor started off really well.
“I had him winning the first three rounds, and then Eubank started to get into the fight a little bit. Conor hurt him repeatedly. Eubank deserves a lot of credit. He was in deep waters and he had to show a lot of heart, which I know he has,” said Hearn.
