“But it came back to bite him in the jacksie.” A few days ago, Matchroom head honcho Eddie Hearn dropped a massive bomb regarding the Conor Benn vs. Chris Eubank Jr. rematch. The pair faced each other in April this year, where The Next Gen came out victorious. Fans thought that would be the end of this long-time family rivalry. However, both have since shown interest in a rematch, and talks have proceeded in that direction.

It was smooth sailing until Hearn told Sky Sports that Eubank Jr. will have a hearing in front of the BBBofC in July. Why? During the weigh-ins, the Sussex native was marginally over the 160lbs weight limit and allegedly used a sauna for weight cutting—a practice banned by the BBBofC. Despite being successfully inside the 170lbs rehydration limit on the day of the fight, the IBO middleweight champion paid £375,000 to Conor Benn, and according to Benn’s promoter, might face more heat during his hearing with the British boxing governing body.

With this new information in light, many assumed that the negotiations for the rematch would face new roadblocks. However, that is not the case. On Saturday, after the Galal Yafai-Francisco Rodriguez Jr. bout in Birmingham, Eddie Hearn appeared on Seconds Out for an interview. During the conversation, the promoter revealed that the contracts for the rematch are already signed. But there won’t be any new negotiations on the weight part.

“The contracts are signed for the fight, so I don’t think there is any negotiations,” he revealed. Now, the team is only waiting for His Excellency Turki Alalshikh to confirm the date. They already have two dates in mind and will decide while keeping the upcoming Premier League schedule in mind. “We all, we’re waiting on now, is just the date from His Excellency, and obviously the football fixtures out now. There’s been a lot of conversations between us back and forth. September 20th, October 4th, etc, could be later. But he’ll make a decision on that, His Excellency probably in the next week,” he revealed.

With the contracts signed, the final announcement is imminent. However, it also means that Chris Eubank Jr. will once again have to go through the rigorous weight-cutting he went through in his first match, something his father, Eubank Sr., is completely against.

These fights are shortening Chris Eubank Jr.’s career

A few weeks ago, the Brighton icon went on a tirade against his son’s promoter and made a heartfelt appeal, both as a father and a fighter. “They’re treating us like we are meat. They’re butchering us,” he stated, targeting the promoters. Despite acknowledging the efforts of his son and Conor Benn, he is a firm believer that the rematch should not happen.

Recalling the struggles Chris Eubank Jr. had to go through to cut weight, he noted, “They tricked him on weight… he’s 35 years old. He’s a big man. He’ll do it because he’s a warrior. But he shouldn’t do it.” The 58-year-old boxing icon noted how these extreme weight cuts not only take a toll on health but can also sabotage a career.

“Junior, you are truly rich and you can make money out of other things. You know those promoters, they hate you because they can never get close to anything that you do… You are now in space. They don’t have the oxygen to be in the world you live in,” he concluded, reminding Junior of his worth.

Considering the intense brutality of the last fight and the toll those drastic measures have taken on Chris Eubank Jr., his father’s worries about his well-being are entirely justified. Let’s hope Ben Shalom’s claims of providing some extra safety measures are true, not only for the sake of this clash, but their careers as well.

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