Chris Eubank Sr. on Eubank Jr.-Conor Benn catch weight: ‘This is how brain injuries occur’
Chris Eubank Sr. is calling for a boycott of Chris Eubank Jr.-Conor Benn fight Saturday because weight requirements are dangerous for his son.
The principals agreed to a catch weight of 157 pounds, three fewer than the middleweight limit. Eubank Jr., 33, has fought between 160 and 168 his entire career.
The elder Eubank said losing those three pounds could result in a serious health issue.
“You know what three pounds beneath the middleweight limit at 33-years-old can do. This is how brain injuries occur,” Eubank Sr. said on The Fight is Right podcast.
Both father and son have been involved in fights in which their opponents suffered brain injuries and ended up in comas, Eubank Sr. against Michael Watson in 1991 and Eubank Jr. against Nick Blackwell in 2016.
Eubank Jr. (32-2, 23 KOs) has won six consecutive fights since he lost a decision to then-168-pound champion George Groves in 2018, including an impressive unanimous-decision victory over Liam Williams at 160 in February.
Benn (21-0, 14 KOs) will be moving up from 147. He last fought in April, when he stopped Chris van Heerden in two rounds.
