Boxing

Eddie Hearn Goes Scorched Earth On Chris Eubank Jr For Weight Miss vs Conor Benn

Eddie Hearn put "plonker" Chris Eubank Jr. on blast for missing weight for his fight against Conor Benn.

Grant Young

Eddie Hearn after the WBC Interim World Flyweight bout at the BP Pulse Live on November 30, 2024.
Eddie Hearn after the WBC Interim World Flyweight bout at the BP Pulse Live on November 30, 2024. / IMAGO / PA Images

One of the biggest fights in British boxing history and one of the most anticipated fights of the 2025 calendar takes place on April 26, as Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn finally go toe to toe in the ring after a buildup of about three decades, given their fathers also had an iconic rivalry that produced two fights.

However, this bout suffered a major blow after Chris Eubank Jr. failed to make weight, coming in at .05 pounds heavier than the contracted 160-pound weight limit. As a result, he has to pay $500,000, and the grudge match loses a lot of validity.

Eubank Jr.'s clear attempts to make weight didn't keep Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn (who is Conor Benn's promoter) from putting him on blast before the fight.

During an April 26 interview on talkSport, Hearn said, "When you say how disciplined you are, when you say how professional you are, and you turn up an hour late for the weigh-in and you miss championship weight, it don't look good."

MORE: Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn Preview: Start Time, Date, Fight Card, How To Watch & Live Stream

He also added, "Everything I see about [Eubank Jr.] coming down, making the weight, going through that process, everything is like a contrived thing with Eubank... he missed championship weight."

"You don't go through this whole process and miss by half an ounce for mind games," he continued. "There's no mind games. He's devastated he missed weight, because he knows he looks like a plonker in the process... The only mind games that has happened now is the deflation of Eubank and the elation of Conor Benn."

Time will tell whether Eubank Jr. can recover from this brutal weight cut in the ring.

The Latest Boxing News

Eddie Hearn Leaks Jake Paul vs Gervonta 'Tank' Davis Fight Date

Gervonta Davis Teammate Admits Tank Is 'Scared to Lose' Lamont Roach Rematch

Shakur Stevenson Disses Gervonta Davis With One Word, Has Several For Teofimo Lopez

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Boxing, Womenā€™s Basketball, and the New York Mets for On SI. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years, and he thinks itā€™s time that Canelo Ɓlvarez fights David Benavidez.