After underwhelming in his rematch with Conor Benn, Chris Eubank Jr was expected by many to hang up the gloves, but the 36-year-old is poised to fight on and to do so against a former world title challenger.
Eubank overcame a brutal weight cut to outpoint Benn in their initial encounter last April, but making 160lbs plus catchweight again for their rematch six months later, his performance blatantly suffered and he lost a wide unanimous decision to his fierce rival.
As a result, Eubank appeared to be left with two options; return to super-middleweight for the first time since trumping James DeGale in 2019, or retire from the sport.
However, speaking to Sporting News, Australia’s former WBA middleweight world title challenger Michael Zerafa unveiled plans for a showdown against Eubank, with the Briton agreeing to remain at middleweight and fight Zerafa, if he can generate the funding.
“He said, ‘You’re the next guy I want to fight, how do we make it happen? If you get the money we want, consider it done.’
“My team and his team, we’re all 100 percent agreed, it all comes down to getting the financials, but in saying that, we’ve got [plans] A, B and C.”
Meanwhile, Eubank Jr’s manager, Elliott ‘Napper’ Amoakoh has also told FightHype that talks are ongoing for the fight, which almost occurred in Riyadh in 2024 when Eubank instead decisioned Poland’s Kamil Szeremeta.
“The fight with Michael Zerafa nearly happened in 2024 on a Riyadh show but we are happy the talks have started again for it to be ever bigger in 2026.”
Zerafa hopes that the event can be staged in his hometown of Melbourne, where Eubank would fight on the fourth continent of his career.
Despite difficulties making the weight against Benn, the removal of the 10lb rehydration clause will allow Eubank to make middleweight more comfortably, as he continues to box in search of a maiden world title win.
