Conor Benn has announced exclusively to Sky Sports his intention to apply for a license from the British Boxing Board of Control for his upcoming fight against Chris Eubank Jr.
The sons of legendary boxing rivals, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr., are scheduled to face off on Saturday, April 26, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Originally, Benn and Eubank Jr. were slated to fight in 2022, but the match was cancelled after Benn tested positive in two drug tests.
Benn was previously involved in a lengthy dispute with the British Boxing Board of Control, which eventually led to the lifting of his provisional suspension.
Although he has competed in boxing matches overseas, Benn has now revealed to Sky Sports his plans to fight Eubank Jr. in April under a British license.
‘I will be reapplying,’ Benn told Sky Sports. ‘I will be reapplying for my British boxing licence.’
‘You could say full vindication will be once I apply for my British boxing licence.’
Heightened security measures were implemented before Thursday’s press conference following an incident at Tuesday’s press event in Manchester, where Eubank Jr. slapped Benn in the face with an egg.
Despite suggestions that a face-off might be cancelled, the two boxers did eventually face each other, albeit at a greater distance and with security personnel ready to intervene.
‘If I get my hands on him I’ll do some damage for sure,’ Benn told Sky Sports. ‘I don’t know if there will be hopefully there isn’t. April 26 may come sooner.’
Matchroom CEO Eddie Hearn acknowledged the possibility of further clashes between the two if they were allowed to get too close.
‘We said we wouldn’t do a head to head at the presser but we’d do one on the pitch and keep security between them,’ said Hearn.
‘I think if Conor was in distance, we’d have a problem.’
Benn made his return to the ring after 525 days in September 2023, defeating Rodolfo Orozco in Florida, and followed up with a victory over Peter Dobson in Las Vegas in February.
Eubank Jr. is coming off a seventh-round knockout victory against Kamil Szeremeta last October, after avenging his defeat to Liam Smith in January 2023 with a 10th-round stoppage in their rematch later that year.
The British rivals are set to bring their verbal sparring into the boxing ring at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, April 26.
