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Chris Eubank Jr’s fight with Conor Benn is finally official, according to Turki Al-Sheikh, the adviser behind Saudi Arabia’s aggressive entry into boxing.
Eubank Jr and Benn were due to fight in October 2022, almost 30 years after their fathers Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn completed their iconic in-ring rivalry. But the bout was thwarted on late notice, due to two failed drug tests by Benn, who was then stripped of his British boxing licence.
Benn is finally free to box in the UK again, having competed in the US over the last two years, and a reorganised clash with Eubank Jr has now been announced by Al-Sheikh.
“Eubank Jr vs Benn done, in April, London,” he tweeted on Wednesday morning (15 January). “Soon I will announce the day and the location […] and I will push to make PPV price 19.99 GBP for the fans, with tough undercard…”
Al-Sheikh’s announcement came just hours after Eubank Jr tweeted: “Just so you all know… these two rats @ConorNigel & [promoter] @EddieHearn are now trying to enforce a rehydration restriction on me to make the fight.
“They talk a big game but when it actually comes down to it… just a pair of [cowards].”
In 2024, the Saudis began to stage events abroad, including Daniel Dubois’s win over Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium in October. It is expected that Benn, 28, vs Eubank Jr, 35, is likelier to be held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium than Wembley.
As part of Al-Sheikh’s plans to improve boxing, he also said this week that he wishes to announce a ‘schedule’ for 2025. He might have been hinting at that when he added, in his tweet: “Lets get boxing great again and wait for huge announcement soon.”
Al-Sheikh also said the event would be named “Fatal Fury City of the Wolves”, as “The Ring [Magazine]’s first card in collaboration with the video game and SNK”. Fatal Fury is a video game series by developers SNK, and City of the Wolves is its latest instalment.
