Today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, shortly after the weigh in for Chris Eubank Jr’s fight with Kamil Szeremeta had taken place, Conor Benn confronted his British rival in the lobby of a hotel…….and things got quite a bit heated.
As we know, these two should have fought many months ago now, yet the massive domestic showdown fell apart at the eleventh hour after Benn tested positive for an illegal substance. Benn has been fighting to clear his good name ever since, and he has not yet been allowed to fight in the UK, although Benn has boxed in the US since the hot test.
Now, going after Eubank Jr in the hotel, this before a crowd of people – in town, of course, for tomorrow night’s big 175 unification showdown between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev – Benn screamed hostilities at Eubank.
“You’re f*****g lucky you’re fighting tomorrow,” Benn shouted at Eubank. “You’re a dead boy walking! I need you to win. I’m going to give you a good ass whipping in front of 16,000.”
Benn then shoved Eubank before the two were separated. It’s a good thing Benn never let go with a punch, as Eubank, if he had wound up hurt or marked up, l would possibly have been forced to pull out of tomorrow night’s fight.
There will of course be those who feel today’s near-brawl was all a set-up, designed to get even more interest in the now quite long in the tooth fight between these two. But is there still major fan interest in this fight? Will it happen, and if so, where?
Eddie Hearn has often said this fight should play out before a UK audience in the home country of both fighters, but will Benn get a license to box in the UK any time soon?
Eubank is now 35, and the clock has been ticking on his career for some time. If Benn and Eubank don’t get it on next year, will they ever fight each other?
There does seem to be genuine bad blood between these two, and the rivalry needs to be settled once and for all. But again, there is a limited window of opportunity for any big fight, including this one.
If a weight, a venue, and a date can be worked out and agreed soon, maybe we will finally get to see these two sons of great champions get it on and thrash out their dislike for one another some time in 2025. Maybe.
