Ben Shalom reveals plans for Chris Eubank Jr’s next fight
BOXXER founder Ben Shalom, in an interview with Betfred, has claimed that Canelo Álvarez at Wembley Stadium “could be next” for Chris Eubank Jr, but believes he’s “prioritising” fighting Conor Benn.
Discussing the prospect of Chris Eubank Jr. vs Canelo Álvarez, Shalom said, “Canelo could be next. We were talking about doing the fight in September, but it came too late when Chris had been out of the ring for a year. Now he’s had that fight and feels fresh, talks have begun in a very, very small way.
“If you’re Canelo and you want a big fight, across the Atlantic that will excite the UK fans as well, then there’s nobody bigger than Chris Eubank Jr. Last week, you saw him be the star of the show, despite Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol, Frazer Clarke and Fabio Wardley being on the card. He became the star. That’s what he does.
“You can imagine the size of the fight between those two. Maybe for the first time, UK fans could see Canelo in the flesh. I think that’s very attractive to Canelo and I do expect that fight to happen. For whatever reason, the license issue is prolonged with Conor Benn, I can see that fight being next.”
Continuing the Eubank Jr. vs Canelo discussion, the UK’s youngest boxing promoter claims he will do all he can to host the fight in the UK.
“We would love to [make the fight in the UK]. It just comes down to money really. It depends on whether the UK can generate as much as what Canelo would naturally earn in the US.
“I believe the gate could be huge and I believe it would sell out Wembley Stadium because it would be an enormous, enormous event. I think Canelo would be interested in it and we have had those talks prior, but it didn’t quite work for the dates we were looking at last time because obviously Anthony Joshua was facing Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium, so it was off the cards for that day.
“I definitely think it’s a possibility. There or Vegas, which is Chris’ second home and it would hopefully be during the Cinco de Mayo weekend.”
However, there’s another fight just as big for Chris Eubank Jr. to consider, being the grudge match with bitter rival, Conor Benn. The pair clashed in Saudi last weekend, seemingly looking to rebuild the fight that was cancelled back in 2022 due to Benn’s failed drug tests.
Shalom continued, “One thing I’ve noticed when I speak to Chris when I speak about potential fights is his reaction to Conor Benn. It’s become personal for him and I think it was a case of born rivals when the first fight was supposed to happen. Everything that was supposed to happen, everything that was said since, what happened in the lead up and what happened involving other people made it a very tough moment in Chris Eubank Jr’s career. Making weight, not having a fight, he believing that he had been misled and the whole carry on has made it very personal for him and I think he prioritises that fight because of everything that’s happened.
“It would be a different fight to what it would have been two years ago because so much has happened and I believe Chris has kept his dignity and kept his character throughout. He can’t wait to get his hands on Conor. He really can’t.
“We just hope for Chris’ sake, and British boxing’s sake, that Conor Benn can get his license soon. He’s had a two year ban and has probably dealt with it differently than people believe he should, but hopefully that chapter closes and we can put on one of the biggest fights this country has ever seen.”
Ben Shalom on whether he’d want any extra measures put in place if Eubank Jr and Benn agree to another fight.
“I’d be very surprised if those circumstances were to repeat themselves, but we’d definitely want to see further testing. The weight is likely to be different this time, probably 160lbs rather than that ridiculous 157-158lbs and that rehydration clause, which made it extremely dangerous for Chris and that again added so much to his anger as he had to go through all that to get to a very unnatural weight that probably affected him in the first Liam Smith fight because he was coming off the back of two weight-cuts. This time it would be a more sensible weight at 160lbs, which is still hard enough for Chris to make.
“This time we should get a fairer fight and that’s all you’d hope for and all you’d expect. Hopefully we can put all that nonsense behind us.”