Chris Eubank Jr has branded himself a boxing “daredevil” after agreeing to the same type of rehydration clause that saw Australia’s Tim Tszyu rendered a “walking zombie” and eventually knocked out for the first time in his storied career.
The revelation comes as megastar Canelo Alvarez has also suggested he would “probably kill” Eubanks Jnr had he pulled the same egg smashing stunt now hyping Sunday’s (AEST) showdown with fellow Englishman Conor Benn.
More than 30 years after their famous fathers initially threw down against one another, IBO middleweight champ Eubank Jnr and undefeated welterweight star Benn will finally square off inside a heaving Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend.
Eubank Jr vs Benn | SUN 27 APRIL 5AM AEST | Two British boxing dynasties in the ring once again. 30 years of rivalry and hatred runs in their blood. | Order now on DAZN
While Eubank Jnr is the $1.48 TAB favourite, a huge question mark still hangs over the champ’s ability to handle the weight stipulations placed on a fight that also sees Benn moving up two divisions.
As part of the bout agreement, both fighters must make the 160lbs (72.58kg) middleweight limit, and also be no more than 10lbs (4.5kg) over that mark when hitting the scales for a second time on fight morning.
The stipulations are similar to those faced when Tszyu, as favourite, challenged IBF super welterweight champ Bakhram Murtazaliev in Miami, Florida last October – only to be brutally stopped for the first time in his career.
Speaking earlier this month, and after his most recent win against American Joey Spencer, Tszyu said he would never again be part of a fight that involved such clauses, saying he entered the Murtazaliev bout like a “walking zombie”.
Asked several times about his own clause this week, Eubank Jnr conceded to Sky Sports that it was “unchartered territory” for him, while also admitting during an interview with The Guardian that “I probably shouldn’t be doing it”.
The 35-year-old Englishman, who has also had several big fights a division higher, added that should he choose to ignore the agreement and put on more than 10 pounds by fight day it would cost him upwards of $1 million.
“So I’m pretty sure I’m going to stick to it,” he said.
READ MORE
ULTIMATE GUIDE: Everything you need to know and how to watch in Australia
PREVIEW: The decades of bad blood, ugly antics behind long-awaited boxing grudge match
‘You’re a disgrace!’ – Eubank SLAMS son | 00:37
Just as intriguingly, the headliner also brings to a head some two years of bad blood between the warring Brits — which includes Eubank Jnr smashing an egg on Benn’s face when the pair initially squared off at a press conference to announce the bout.
Eubank Jnr’s stunt was designed to make fun of the excuses used after Benn popped for a banned substance before what was initially supposed to be a 2022 fight between the pair – with the WBC stating the positive may have been due to eating too many eggs.
Speaking with DAZN this week, Alvarez rated the press conference stunt a “one” before explaining how he would respond if a rival ever attempted to smash an egg in his face during a fight build.
“I probably kill him,” he shrugged.
Regardless, Eubank Jnr insists the egg stunt means there is now far more at stake than simply some manufactured rivalry built on their fathers Chris Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn having thrown down in the 1990s.
For more than two years, Benn has refused to share information which he says clears him of intentionally taking clomifene, which appeared twice in his system during voluntary anti-doping tests.
Unsurprisingly, his rival doesn’t buy it.
“The egg was meant to embarrass him,” Eubank Jr said in his interview with The Guardian.
“It was meant to make an example of him.
“It was meant to make sure that his cheating will never be forgotten.
“There are so many active fighters that have been caught cheating and are now still fighting and no one says anything about it.
“I couldn’t let that be the case with this man.
“I needed to make sure I did something so he would be remembered forever as the cheat that he is and he would never be able to play it down, which is what they were trying to do — ‘Oh, he’s cleared, he spent £1m on proving his innocence.’
“No. He was cleared to fight.
“But cleared of having performance-enhancing drugs in his system? That’s very different.
“Conor is not cleared of being a cheat.”
Later, he continued: “The facts are that the drugs were found in his system.
“Eddie Hearn, naturally, tried to cover it up and make the fight go ahead.
“They knew the whole time that he’d failed these two drug tests.
“So there are no suspicions. He is a cheat.”
Eubank Jr vs Benn | SUN 27 APRIL 5AM AEST | Two British boxing dynasties in the ring once again. 30 years of rivalry and hatred runs in their blood. | Order now on DAZN
On the risks associated with rehydration clauses meanwhile, and the impacts it could have on him specifically, Eubank Jnr admitted “I probably shouldn’t be doing it”.
The fighter made that claim during an interview with The Guardian’s Donald McRae, who outlined a warning from neurosurgeon Peter Hamlyn which stated: “Unless you’re fit, which includes being properly hydrated, you shouldn’t be boxing.
“And if you’ve engineered a situation where somebody isn’t fully fit, it’s not a sensible idea.
“A boxer is at maximum risk when they’re fatigued … and not able to defend themselves.”
Certainly, Tszyu agrees.
Asked immediately after the Spencer win earlier this month about a rematch with Murtazaliev, the Australian star said: “I wouldn’t do rehydration (clause), I’ll be honest with you.
“I woke up this morning, rejuvenated and fresh.
“It was like two completely different people (compared to the October fight).
“Last one, I woke up and my stomach was sucked in, I didn’t feel like myself.
“I was a walking zombie.
“First punch I got hit with, it was game over.”
Eubank Jnr, meanwhile, also understands everything coming this weekend.
“I understand and accept the risks,” the fighter said in response to the neurosurgeon’s warning.
“I am a man that enjoys a challenge, even a dangerous one.
“I believe my skills are far superior to Conor’s, so I can give myself the disadvantage of restricting my rehydration.
“But the doctor you spoke to is absolutely right. I probably shouldn’t be doing it.
“But we are the daredevils of sport.
“We do things that we shouldn’t do.
“This is not a normal life we are living, punching each other as hard as we can in the head and body.
“But it’s what we love, it’s what we train for as professionals, and I am very confident.”
Discussion about this post