Jump to content

Benn vs. Eubank Jr. fight set for April 26 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium


Ledhed1

Recommended Posts

Associated Press

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be the venue for the all-British boxing grudge match between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr. on April 26.

Promoters Eddie Hearn and Turki Alalshikh announced the date and location late Thursday, more than 30 years after the boxers’ fathers — Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank — met twice in the ring in one of Britain’s great rivalries.

Benn and the 35-year-old Eubank Jr. were scheduled to fight at London’s O2 Arena in October 2022 in a catchweight bout, but it was called off after Benn failed a voluntary doping test.

The 28-year-old Benn, who is undefeated, battled for two years to clear his name and his suspension was lifted in November.

Benn will reportedly have to move up from welterweight to fight Eubank at middleweight.

The undercard will include a trilogy bout between British light heavyweights Anthony Yarde and Lyndon Arthur. Chris Billam-Smith will fight for the first time since losing his WBO cruiserweight title to Gilberto Ramirez in November. The Bournemouth native will face Brandon Glanton of the United States.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Liam Smith and Anthony Yarde to star on Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn undercard

By Darshan Desai, Uncrowned

Four fights have been confirmed for the April 26 Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn undercard at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Liam Smith and Anthony Yarde leading the supporting act.

Smith, the former WBO super welterweight champion who signed with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing on Wednesday, will face unbeaten Irish prospect Aaron McKenna in a middleweight bout

Smith (33-4-1, 20 KOs) knocked out Eubank Jr. in January 2023 in what was a major upset, but fell short in the rematch eight months later. Smith was scheduled to face Josh Kelly on the Anthony Joshua-Daniel Dubois undercard, but withdrew from the bout due to illness.

Smith will end a 19-month layoff in April when he battles McKenna (19-0, 10 KOs). McKenna was one of the four remaining participants in a canceled Japanese Prizefighter tournament, which would've seen the winner leave with $1 million. McKenna has now landed an even bigger opportunity against Smith on the biggest British fight card of the year.

Elsewhere on the lineup, Yarde and Lyndon Arthur will conclude their light heavyweight rivalry with a trilogy clash.

Arthur (24-2, 16 KOs) upset Yarde (26-3, 24 KOs) in 2020 in London to claim the WBO No. 1 ranking by split decision. Yarde avenged the defeat 12 months later with a conclusive fourth-round knockout.

With Yarde's two biggest domestic rivals, Callum Smith and Joshua Buatsi, clashing with each other on the Feb. 22 Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol 2 undercard, a Yarde-Arthur trilogy was made to boost the all-British element of the Eubank-Benn show.

Also on the fight card, Cheavon Clarke will defend his British cruiserweight title against undefeated prospect Viddal Riley.

Clarke (10-1, 7 KOs), a 2020 Olympian for Team GB, lost in his quest to claim the European title last December, dropping a split-decision to Leonardo Mosquea. Riley (12-0, 7 KOs), the English champion, was supposed to face Isaac Chamberlain on the Feb. 1 Adam Azim-Sergey Lipinets undercard, but Chamberlain was forced out due to injury. Riley now faces Clarke in a domestic cruiserweight thriller.

Rounding out the show, former WBO titleist Chris Billam-Smith battles Brandon Glanton in another cruiserweight affair.

Billam-Smith (20-2, 13 KOs) won the cruiserweight strap with a unanimous decision upset of Lawrence Okolie in his hometown of Bournemouth in 2023. "CBS" managed two defenses of the belt before falling short in a unification matchup with Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez in November 2024.

Glanton (20-2, 17 KOs) earned a career-best win last time out, knocking out Aleksei Egorov in Russia. The American has been waiting for a major opportunity on the world stage, and he finally gets that against Billam-Smith on April 26.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...