Chris Eubank Jr. Claims He Was Offered More Money To Box Conor Benn But Prefered To Rematch Liam Smith
Chris Eubank Jr. thought about fighting Conor Benn next.
Eubank Jr. and Benn were supposed to fight last October but Benn failed a drug test and the fight was off. After that, Eubank Jr. then fought Liam Smith in January and it was Smith scoring a fourth-round knockout win in an upset.
After the loss, Eubank Jr. said the plan was to get an immediate rematch. Yet, he was offered millions more to box Benn but he said it didn’t feel right to face Benn before he rematches Smith.
“I definitely considered fighting Conor Benn next,” Eubank Jr. told Sky Sports. “Because when somebody puts millions and millions and millions of pounds in front of you and offers you a fight, you consider it. You don’t just turn it down. I was offered a substantial amount to fight Conor Benn overseas and I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t the right time, it wasn’t the right place. The circumstances weren’t right. It doesn’t matter how much money you’re going to throw at me, things have to be right. If things are not right with Conor at this moment in time, and things are not right with me. I want to get this guy [Smith] back for what he did and then I can move on.”
Chris Eubank Jr. and Liam Smith are set to box on July 1 in Manchester, England, the exact same arena as the first fight.
Should Eubank Jr. win the rematch, he knows the Benn fight is there but he also hints at other big fights next time out.
“There’s still so many names out there for me to get in the ring with,” Eubank Jr said. “So many names that the fans want to see me fight and the amazing thing is a lot of these guys are domestic. They’re in the UK. So that’s great for UK fans. There’s some awesome domestic fights and there’s also some awesome international fights for world titles. But I have to get past Liam Smith. I can’t go and fight these big names if I don’t take care of business. So I’m not even focusing on any of that right now. Now it’s just getting the getback. It’s payback time.”
Do you think Chris Eubank Jr. will beat Liam Smith in the rematch?
