Eddie Hearn Casts Doubt on Conor Benn Beating Eubank Jr at 168

Eddie Hearn just said the quiet part out loud. The Matchroom boss admits his team squeezed every possible advantage out of the Chris Eubank Jr contracts — a 160lb catchweight, a 170lb rehydration cap — and now he's not convinced Conor Benn wins a straight fight at super-middleweight. Benn, 25-1 (14 KO), split the first two meetings: Eubank took the opener by unanimous decision in 2025, then Benn flattened a visibly drained version of his rival in the rematch, scoring two 12th-round knockdowns on the way to a wide points win.

Speaking to The Stomping Ground, Hearn framed it plainly. He said Matchroom did its job getting Benn the best edge available, then admitted he genuinely doesn't know whether Benn beats Eubank at 168lbs with no rehydration clause attached. That's a striking bit of honesty from a promoter who usually sells the fight rather than pre-doubting his own man.

The Weight Story

The rivalry was supposed to happen in 2022 before Benn tested positive for clomifene and the bout collapsed. When it finally landed in 2025, the contractual weight terms did a lot of heavy lifting. Eubank is the naturally bigger man, but the rehydration clause meant he couldn't tip past 170lbs on fight morning. By the rematch, he looked severely depleted — and Benn, fresh and firing, made him pay.

Strip those terms out and the maths changes. A full-strength Eubank at a natural super-middleweight, no artificial ceiling on his rehydration, is a different opponent entirely. Hearn's honesty is basically an acknowledgement that Benn's 2-1 split has an asterisk baked into the contract fine print.

What's Next

Complicating matters, Benn no longer sits under the Matchroom umbrella — he's now aligned with Dana White's Zuffa Boxing. He's also rebuilding after a second-round stoppage loss to Ryan Garcia, the WBC welterweight titlist who runs 25-2 (20 KO). That setback likely pushes Benn up to middleweight or super-middleweight full-time, which is exactly the territory where a trilogy with Eubank lives.

So the fight makes sense on paper and on promotional appetite. But Hearn's verdict lingers: the first two chapters were fought on terms tilted toward Benn. A third at 168 with a level playing field is a coin-flip Hearn himself won't call — and that tells you plenty.