Chris Eubank Jr has urged rival Conor Benn to regain his British boxing licence before the pair hold fresh fight talks.
Eubank Jr looked set to face bitter rival Benn last year but the fight was shelved after his rival failed two drug tests with the information released on the week of the clash. The British Boxing Board of Control refused to sanction the event and Benn ripped up his boxing licence as a result with an appeal set to be heard.
Benn has since insisted his innocence having sent a 270-page appeal to the WBC which has since seen him reinstated to the world rankings. This led to fresh talks between the pair about a potential rescheduling of the showdown in June, with lucrative interest from the Middle East.
But talks have since collapsed with Eubank Jr electing to pursue a revenge meeting against Liam Smith which has been announced for June 17 at Manchester Arena. And the British star has since insisted that he remains open to the showdown once circumstances have changed.
“Clear as day," Eubank Jr told reporters at the launch press conference to announce his sequel with Smith. "Get his British Boxing Licence back so that he can fight in the UK, so that we can do it where the fight makes the most sense, where we can, where it’s supposed to happen.
"Not in the Middle East or you know, when there’s all these things going on about, he has to clear his name. We don’t need to talk about how far apart, how far I was, we were in talks when I had to weigh up my options and I decided against it. Oh of course, you know you have to take everything into consideration. I entertained it, I thought about it, but this is the fight which made the most sense for me at this moment in time, I have to avenge the loss."
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Eubank Jr will now take on Smith for the second time instead in a seemingly do-or-die outing for his middleweight career given the nature of his previous defeat. The 33-year-old crumbled to a stoppage loss against a rampant Liverpudlian in Smith who was at a crossroads while his rival decided his next move.
But now the conquered star has insisted his full focus will go into his redemption mission in Manchester this summer. “Revenge is the most important thing to me. I know I am a better fighter than him and I have to go out there and prove it," he continued. “I am a light hearted guy, I said that I would need 50% to beat him and that is not to say that is all I trained to be.
"Maybe I did take him lightly but again I didn’t cut corners in the camp. Did I under-estimate him maybe. In my opinion I dominated the first three rounds, but now I have to go and rectify my mistake.”
