Chris Eubank Jr stance on Conor Benn rematch after 'scared to fight' accusation
Chris Eubank Jr wants his rematch with Conor Benn to take place in November. The plans for a September 20 showdown were shelved this week with Eddie Hearn pointing the finger of blame at Eubank Jr for pulling out of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium clash.
But the Brighton boxer has not pulled out and instead wants more time to prepare for the rerun of the April fight he won on points.
Eubank Jr, 35, is contracted to a rematch on the same terms when it comes to the middleweight limit and rehydration clauses. But he is not running away from the bout despite claims. Instead, he does not believe he will be ready for September.
Eubank Jr's representatives have contacted Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh to notify him of this. Discussions are now ongoing for a November date with the fight either taking place in London or the Middle East.
Eubank Jr wants it to be in London and talks are ongoing with Tottenham over a revised date but they may move indoors given the weather conditions at that time of year.
Benn insists he doesn't want to wait and will move on from the bout to go back to welterweight and bid for a world title.
He said: ''I'm not waiting. I'm not waiting around. I feel like my career has sort of been on hold to give the fans this fight, and I'm glad that the fight delivered, but now I've got to just tick the box off on my personal goals, which is winning a WBC world title.
"It's either [moving back down to] 147lbs for me or the rematch. I'm ready to honour my side of the agreement, which was a two-fight deal [at middleweight] and it's safe to say he's scared. He almost lost. It could have gone either way. To a welterweight."
Meanwhile, Anthony Joshua 's promoter Hearn has revealed a fight with Jake Paul is a realistic possibility. The American motor-mouth and YouTube star claimed he was up for facing the two-time world heavyweight champion.
And Alalshikh wants to make it happen now which appears ludicrous given the size different and the fact Paul has so little boxing experience with most of his ring time gimmick fights.
But Hearn said: 'Turki came in and said, 'I'm going to make that fight'," Hearn said. "Jake Paul's manager has come out and said, 'no one decides who Jake Paul fights but us'. I've got a smaller ego in this situation, which is quite remarkable!'
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Hearn, who has held talks directly with Paul's team, believes the bout could keep Joshua busy while he waits for Tyson Fury to return. The Matchroom chief reckons both men will want fights against different opponents before facing each other next year.
He added: "For us, we want to fight Tyson Fury, but we are going to fight before that Tyson Fury fight because Tyson Fury is not going to fight Anthony Joshua before spring or summer of 2026."
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