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Chris Eubank Jr's trainer slams Conor Benn rematch contract clause that should be 'taken out of the whole sport'
Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn will share the stage again on September 20 in a rematch of their cross-generational grudge match and fight of the year contender in April.
Eubank Jr was the eventual victor after twelve gruelling rounds under the lights at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
But the fight was marred with controversy throughout the build-up, with Eubank Jr breaking an egg on the face of Benn at the launch press conference and major concerns over the contracted weight, including a rehydration clause.
Chris Eubank Sr was outspoken on the issue, calling for the fight to be cancelled due to the dangers posed to his son concerning dehydration.
A rehydration clause is a stipulation in a fight contract that prevents a fighter from excessively dehydrating themselves before a weigh-in and then rehydrating to what can sometimes be up to 20lbs heavier than the contracted weight.
For their first fight, Eubank Jr and Benn were both contracted to weigh in at 160lbs (the middleweight limit) and no more than 170lbs on the morning of the fight. This was met with a mixed reaction as some believed that it was too dangerous for Eubank Jr, and others thought it was a fair agreement to bridge the gap in size between the two.
With the contracted weight remaining the same for the rematch, DAZN news had the chance to speak with Eubank Jr’s head coach, Johnathon Banks, who made his thoughts very clear on the topic.
Banks is not a believer in the rehydration clause as a concept, not just as a stipulation in his fighter’s contract.
He explained that everyone is different in how their body is able to cope with dehydration and rehydration. Fundamentally, he says that it is misguided to create a blanket rule.
Banks said: “If you grab 150 people, and I grab 150 people, [do you think] all of them can lose weight and rehydrate the same, and there'll be no cause and effect? That's not true. It's simply not true. Everybody rehydrates and can come back completely different. So, since everybody is different, why do you have these rehydration clauses?”
Throughout the build-up to the fight, Eubank Jr would have had regular check-ups from the sanctioning body on how his weight-cut was going and post-fight ran into some problems after releasing footage of him allegedly using a sauna to aid in his weight-loss, which is against the British Boxing Board of Control’s (BBBofC) regulations. That post cost Eubank Jr £10,000 in fines this week.
After appearing in front of the BBBofC, Eubank was cleared of any wrongdoing concerning the use of a sauna, but Banks believes that how his fighters make weight is not the concern of the sanctioning body and should be looked after by the team.
Banks said: “Why am I paying you to check on how I’m making weight? It's really none of your business. At least that's how it should be.”
If he had it his way, Banks said that he would completely remove the rehydration clause for the Eubank Jr vs Benn rematch and from boxing in its entirety – not understanding the benefit and believing that if a fighter cannot make weight, they should just be fined.
Banks said: “I would take the rehydration clause out of the whole sport, because I don't see the benefit. I just don't see the benefit.”
He concluded: “Bottom line is, if you can fight, you can fight. If you make weight, you make the weight. If they don't, fine them.”
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