Eddie Hearn backs Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn to ‘sell out Wembley in a day’; predicts fight date

Eubank Jr and Benn were due to face off at a sold-out O2 Arena last October, but this was cancelled after the latter tested positive for the banned substance clomiphene.

Over the past year, Benn has been fighting to clear his name and his suspension was recently lifted, though this outcome is in the process of being appealed.

Despite this, Hearn is going ahead with plans for Benn’s return, with his first bout back potentially taking place in the United States on September 23.

Hearn has also indicated that he and Eubank Jr’s promoter (Kalle Sauerland) have held talks over the all-British mega-fight.

“September 23rd, that is the targeted date,” Hearn told Boxing Social when asked about Benn’s return.

“That is the date that has been mentioned, that is the date that we are pushing for and then back home on December 2nd or December 9th ideally, that’s the plan.”

On the Eubank Jr fight, he added: “I had lunch with Kalle [Sauerland] today, obviously he wants to make the fight because it’s the biggest fight for Chris Eubank, we want to make the fight because it’s the biggest fight for Conor Benn.

“Stadium? Yes. We either go to the Millenium Stadium or we do it as [Tyson] Fury did it, in the cold, which they got away with last time.

“We could sell that fight out at Wembley or the Millenium Stadium in a day.”
While Benn has been out of the picture, Eubank Jr has had two fights with fellow Brit Liam Smith.

Smith earned a shock fourth-round knockout win when they clashed in January 2023, but Eubank Jr got revenge last weekend as he put in a career-best performance to stop the Liverpudlian inside ten rounds.

Smith’s trainer – Joe McNally – has now revealed his fighter was nowhere near 100% for the Eubank Jr rematch.

“It just wasn’t Liam. There was nothing he could do … It was a case of guiding him through the fight to not get hurt,” McNally told Boxing News.

“It was so heartbreaking, and Liam knew too. His whole demeanour. I think he was a bit embarrassed and ashamed – there was a look in his eyes that said ‘I’ve f***ed up here.'”

He added: “He’s getting threatened [by] the business side of getting his a**e sued if he pulled out again.

“I’m like, eight weeks out, we need this fight at the end of October, November. It’s no good.

“I feel for the fans too. Chris’ fans will be super happy. Liam’s fans will be super devastated.

"But the casual fans have sort of been conned out of a good fight, because Liam Smith was just probably 8%.”