Chris Eubank Jr accepts £1m bet with ‘rodent’ Eddie Hearn over Conor Benn grudge match

Hearn, who promotes Benn, previously tried to make the bet with Eubank Jr’s promoter Ben Shalom

Chris Eubank Jr has accepted a £1m bet with Eddie Hearn over April’s fight with Conor Benn, telling the promoter: “Let’s find out if you’re a man of your word.”

On 26 April, Eubank Jr and Benn will fight each other at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, 18 months after the Britons were first due to clash. In October 2022, the match-up collapsed on late notice upon the revelation that Benn had failed two drug tests.

Benn subsequently served a British ban, boxing twice in the US before he was cleared to fight on home soil in November. His bout with Eubank Jr, 35, will be his first in Britain since April 2022.

And ahead of that grudge match, Benn’s promoter Hearn tried to make a bet with his counterpart on Eubank Jr’s team, Ben Shalom. The latter seemed to turn down the bet, but Eubank Jr has “formally” accepted it.

“Come on, Eddie,” Eubank Jr said in a video on social media, attached to a clip of Hearn offering Shalom the bet. “£1m, eh? Okay, let’s find out if you’re a man of your word or just a lying hype job.

“I formally accept your £1m bet, and the £1m will be our own personal money – not company money or purse money, just a straight-up bet between me and you.

“The money will go into escrow, and the winner takes all. And now I look forward to watching you try to weasel your way out of this bet, like the rodent I know you are. Good day.”

Eubank Jr and Benn will box more than 30 years after their fathers last fought. In 1990, Chris Eubank Sr beat Nigel Benn, and in 1993, they fought to a draw.

While that rivalry was a defining one in British boxing, Eubank Jr and Conor Benn have forged their own grudge. At a press conference in February, Eubank Jr sparked a melee by slapping Benn, 28, in the face with an egg. The stunt was a reference to the WBC suggesting that Benn’s failed drug tests could have been caused by “elevated consumption” of eggs. Eubank Jr was later fined £100,000 for the attack.

At another press conference two days later, Eubank Jr sparked an irate reaction from Benn after threatening his father. That threat came after Nigel Benn put his hands around Eubank Jr’s neck following the egg slap.

Eddie Hearn (back right) watches Chris Eubank Jr (left) slap Conor Benn with an egg (Richard Sellers/PA Wire)

Nigel Benn is expected to be in his son’s corner on 26 April, while Eubank Jr and his own father have been estranged in recent years. Eubank Sr has expressed disapproval at his son’s match-up with Benn, in large part due to the natural weight disparity between the boxers, but he did have a “meaningful” meeting with Eubank Jr this month – backstage at a Harlem Eubank fight.

Harlem Eubank is the cousin of Eubank Jr and son of the late Simon Eubank. The latter died in 2023, two years after the death of Sebastian Eubank – Eubank Jr’s brother.