Weight gives Eubank advantage against Benn – Hearn

Chris Eubank Jr will have the advantage over Conor Benn because the fight is being staged at middleweight, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.

Benn’s promoter Hearn has managed to get the fighters to come to terms over a bout, which is targeted for 26 April at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The fight will be contested at 11st 6lb (160lb), three pounds heavier than the agreement for their cancelled fight in October 2022.

“It’s a much better position for Chris Eubank than the first fight from a weight perspective, at his natural weight,” Hearn told BBC NI.

“Conor Benn’s coming up two divisions and looking to take his head off.”

Benn usually fights at welterweight, which has an upper limit of 10st 7lb (147lb).

There is also a hydration clause that will restrict either man from weighing more than 170lb on fight night, but Hearn was coy on the subject, saying the restriction was not “unreasonable”.

Eubank and Benn were scheduled to fight two years ago, before the latter failed two voluntary drug tests.

It was cancelled a few days before the fight and Benn went through a two-year battle with doping authorities, which ended when his suspension was lifted last November.

Despite a public appetite for the fight, Hearn said negotiations have been difficult and revealed Benn signed his contract at 03:00 GMT on Wednesday.

Benn and Eubank’s fathers had a famous rivalry in their careers in the 1990s and tensions between their sons have risen considerably since the cancellation of the first bout.

“We know the grudge matches, how difficult it is. It’s petty. There’s ego. And it takes time,” Hearn said.

“[This will be a] big stadium fight. Two years in the waiting. A lot of headaches. Lost a lot of hair over it. But can’t wait for a massive night.”