Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr are nearing a deal for an April 26 fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Talks for the fight ramped up over the weekend with the pair and their promoters, Eddie Hearn and Ben Shalom, in attendance at the Ring Magazine awards. Those discussions are now at a crucial stage and a deal could be wrapped up very soon.
Benn, 28, has been recently cleared to reapply for his British Boxing Board of Control licence after a National Anti-Doping Panel judged that UK Anti-Doping must lift his temporary suspension as they were not “comfortably satisfied” a doping offence had been committed.
The London boxer was under investigation after two adverse analytical findings in VADA tests for the prohibited substance clomiphene, a fertility drug which has performance-enhancing benefits.
The second test was revealed just days before Benn was due to face Eubank Jr in October 2022. Eubank Jr has since lost and beaten Liam Smith in that time and got a win over Kamil Szeremeta. While Benn did box twice in the US when his suspension was lifted previously.
The bout will be contested at middleweight if it is agreed. ESPN first reported the date and weight but we can reveal that the home of Spurs is the target venue. Hearn and Shalom both held talks with Saudi boxing boss Turki Alalshikh at the weekend in a bid to broker a deal for the fight.
The pair had previously failed to agree on purse splits for the bout but now most of the major stumbling blocks have been removed.
“I think we either get it made this week or we don’t,” Hearn told Sky Sports. “His Excellency has made it clear that it’s a fight that he wants to see and be involved with, which helps, because it enables him to sit in the middle and negotiate with both sides.
“If I was negotiating with Eubank, I don’t think the fight would get made, if I’m honest. Luckily I’m not. We are drawing closer to the finishing line. It’s not done yet, but a stadium blockbuster awaits hopefully in April.
“If everybody was sensible, I’d be 100 per cent [confident the fight happens]. But this is boxing, and no one is sensible. Watch this space.”
Benn and Eubank Jr are sons of famous fighting duo Nigel and Chris Snr, who had two epic battles back in the 1990s and were mainstream names in the sport.
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