MERCIFULLY Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr will not now be battling it out for family honour.
Boxing can heave a huge sigh of relief that it’s not facing the possibility of a catchweight catastrophe.
No doubt many of the 20,000 sell-out crowd will be bitterly disappointed they won’t be watching a fight between the sons of legendary double world champions Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr at London’s O2 Arena tomorrow night.
But I regard it as a blessing in disguise.
In July – before contracts were signed – I expressed grave doubts in this column about the wisdom of allowing Conor and Chris Jr to come to blows.
Despite the obvious box-office appeal, I felt it had no validity and was a highly-dangerous enterprise considering the huge difference in size between the two men. It certainly could have led to dire consequences.
Young Benn is a small welterweight – three inches shorter than Chris Jr and outreached by five inches.
But he was prepared to jump two weight divisions to tackle a man who has challenged for the world super-middleweight title.
In an attempt to make it a more level playing field, Chris Jr agreed to boil down to 157lbs which in itself would have been a recipe for disaster.
Fighters who are severely dehydrated as a result of extreme weight-loss are far more likely to suffer serious brain damage.
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No wonder Chris’s father – who had major weight problems during his career – made an impassioned plea for the fight to be called off.
Eubank Sr claimed making his boy get down to 11st 3lbs was suicidal and on that basis the risk to his sons health was far too great.
At least he will be able to sleep easy in his bed tonight knowing his boy will no longer be at risk.
There was every chance once Chris Jr had rehydrated and eaten a couple of meals he would have climbed through the ropes more than stone heavier than Conor which would have placed him in considerable peril.
Most fight folk would agree wholeheartedly with Eubank Sr. Teddy Atlas, Mike Tyson’s first trainer described catchweights as a blight on the sport.
John H. Stracey, 72, who was world heavyweight champion in the Seventies was vehemently opposed to Conor and Chris Jr getting it on.
Stracey stood up to be counted and told me: “It was never going to be a fair fight and it was ridiculous that it was being allowed to happen.
“It was contrived from the beginning to make money – it had nothing to do with the so-called Benn-Eubank family feud.
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“Surely the fighters health and safety must always come before any amount of money. I’m delighted it’s been called off.”
If the weight controversy wasn’t serious enough the fight was hit by a double whammy – Conor being allowed to carry-on after failing a dope test would have been a travesty.
There is nothing more frustrating for a fighter who has spent weeks preparing for a major contest with all the spartan discipline that entails only to be told at the 11th hour it ain’t happening.
I feel for the undercard boxers who can ill-afford to be out of pocket. It’s not unusual and I’ve been involved in those situations several times.
In October, 1994 I flew to Hong Kong to cover Frank Bruno’s fight with American Ray Mercer.
Less than 24 hours before the opening bell the promoters announced they hadn’t got the money to pay the fighters and the show was cancelled.
Frank was spitting feathers when he was told the 12,000-mile round-trip was for nothing and he was going home without being paid a penny.
My Sports Editor wasn’t best pleased, either.
Source: The Sun