Ahead of the highly anticipated rematch between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn, the brutal and often hidden world of boxing weight cuts has been thrust into the spotlight by former world champion Tony Bellew.
The Scale Struggle and Financial Sting
The drama began at the weigh-in for tonight's clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Chris Eubank Jr failed to make weight for his first fight with Conor Benn seven months ago, missing the mark by a fraction. That costly error saw him fined a staggering £375,000. Determined not to repeat the mistake, Eubank Jr was seen on social media sweating out the final pounds in the lead-up to Friday's weigh-in. His dedication paid off; he not only hit the required weight but ultimately tipped the scales lighter than his rival Benn.
Tony Bellew's Harrowing First-Hand Account
While Eubank Jr's situation was resolved, Tony Bellew used the occasion to reveal the extreme physical toll weight cutting took on his own career. The former cruiserweight world champion described the dire state he was in when he campaigned at light-heavyweight, specifically before his fight against Adonis Stevenson.
"I was facing Adonis Stevenson, that's a weight drained fighter, that's someone who was dead on the scales," Bellew stated. He explained that the process leaves a fighter with no punch resistance and shaky legs, a dangerous condition to enter a ring in. "Your body shuts down," he emphasised, detailing a horrific method to shed the final five pounds. "The bath was so hot it burnt my skin, I had salt in it and it dragged five pounds out my body."
Bellew was so scarred by the experience that he claimed no amount of money could convince him to fight at light-heavyweight again, stating, "If someone came to me tomorrow and said I'll give you £10million to fight at light-heavyweight, I can't do it."
Eubank Jr's Case: A Simple Miscalculation?
Despite laying bare the brutality of the practice, Bellew believes Eubank Jr's previous weight miss was not a case of being weight-drained. He pointed to Eubank Jr's strong performance in the later rounds of his first victory over Benn as evidence. "Chris Eubank Jr came on strongly in rounds 10 and 11," Bellew noted. "That is not a weight-drained fighter, that's just a fighter getting his timing making weight wrong. He just f***ed up."
This insight suggests that while the system is inherently dangerous, Eubank Jr's initial struggle was more about a tactical error than a physical impossibility, a mistake he has now corrected for the rematch.
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