An interesting rule was put in place for the Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn fight which will make the bout a much fairer affair.
The pair weighed in a day before their middleweight clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 26. Chris Eubank Jr was fined $500,000 for missing weight by just 0.05 lbs, while Conor Benn came in at 156 lbs.
The fight is still on despite the missed weight, with both men set to make millions from the bout.
Eubank Jr is predicted to win due to his size and strength advantage, but the addition of the hydration clause helps even the odds for Benn in London.
- READ MORE – “It should be called off!”… Former world champion is outraged over Chris Eubank Jr. vs Conor Benn issue
What is the hydration clause for the Conor Benn vs Chris Eubank Jr. fight?
The rehydration clause was set so that Eubank Jr could not overly dehydrate himself for the weigh-in before gaining even more weight ahead of the bout.
Both athletes were expected to be heavier on Saturday than the Friday weigh-in after dehydrating themselves to make it under the 160 lb mark.
However, to stop Eubank Jr ballooning to an unreachable weight, a second weigh-in on Saturday morning was added.
Both men weighed in under the agreed 170 lb rehydration clause weight, with Eubank Jr coming in at 169.4 lbs, while Benn added nearly 10 lbs to come in at 165 lbs.
With both men putting on large amounts of weight, even with the clause, there is a very good reason they were subject to the rehydration rules.
The hydration clause is a good thing to keep the fight competitive
Adding the hydration clause to the fight helps to level the playing field in the fight and doesn’t allow Eubank Jr to retain a huge weight advantage over Benn.
As it is being fought at Middleweight, Benn has to jump up two weight classes from Welterweight (147 lbs) to Middleweight (160 lbs), meaning he is already at a disadvantage against Eubank Jr, who has fought as high as in the Super Middleweight division in the past.
Fighters can lose as much as 30 lbs before weigh-in, creating a big issue for Benn. Eubank Jr could have, in theory, come into this fight at 190 lbs, making defeating him an almost insurmountable task.
By forcing a pre-fight weigh-in under 170 lbs, it keeps the bout more fair and puts both men on an even playing field.
If it weren’t for their fathes’ history, the weight difference would have made this fight impossible. However, the hydration clause has given this fight the best chance it can to be a competition worth watching.