You all know the headline by now: Chris Eubank Jr. missed the 160-lb middleweight limit by the thickness of a whisker - 0.05 lb, to be exact. He stripped to everything but the beard (one can only wonder how many ounces of chin-hair he was clinging to) and still tipped 160.05. The result: a contractual £375,000 fine, payable on the spot to Conor Benn. A couple of observers quipped that the poorest ounce in boxing history just cost Eubank a London flat.

That shocking number has led some fans to recall Ryan Garcia showing up to a weigh-in last year with a bottle of beer in hand, seemingly unbothered by hydration science. In Eubank’s case, however, the math was already agreed: the contract for this fight prescribes escalating penalties for missing weight, but never cancellation unless the second-day rehydration limit (170 lb) is breached. Both men cleared Saturday’s check: Eubank at 169.4 lb, Benn at 165, and the British Boxing Board promptly rubber-stamped tonight’s grudge match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Weight clauses trace back to the aborted 2022 date that collapsed when Conor Benn failed two VADA tests. This time the limit sits at the full middleweight 160 lb, but promoters kept a next-morning cap of 170 lb to curb drastic rehydration.

Watch the weigh-in highlights here: Watch

The scale drama is only the latest twist in a feud that began with the fathers. In November 1990 Chris Eubank Sr halted Nigel Benn in nine ferocious rounds to lift the WBO middleweight belt; their Old Trafford rematch in 1993 ended in a split draw that settled nothing. For 30 years a rubber match hovered and vanished, leaving unfinished business to the sons.​

That heritage has fuelled an especially rancorous build-up. Eubank slapped Benn with a raw egg at the February press conference, mocking the WBC’s “elevated egg consumption” rationale for Benn’s 2022 test result. Two days later Nigel Benn briefly grabbed Eubank Jr by the throat before security intervened. When Junior missed weight, Senior condemned the fight as “a disgrace,” invoking the tragic 1991 Michael Watson contest and warning that size disparities endanger both men.​

Financial incentives dwarf the fine. Promoters expect a gate north of £7 million; DAZN and Sky charge £19.95 in the UK and $24.99 in the U.S. Insiders say Eubank still earns close to £10 million, Benn around £8 million plus the extra cheque for his rival’s miscalculation. Victorious, Benn re-establishes himself after two years of regulatory exile; Eubank, if he wins, redeems the lost money and stays in contention for Saudi paydays against Daniel Dubois or Badou Jack. Defeat, especially after a £375k headline, would sting far worse than missing by a hair’s breadth.

Underneath the main event, British grudge matches stack the undercard - Yarde-Arthur III, Liam Smith-Aaron McKenna, Chris Billam-Smith-Brandon Glanton, Viddal Riley-Cheavon Clarke - ensuring a marathon night for the crowd.

Once the bell rings, decimal points give way to punches landed. Whether that costly whisker proves a smart hydration gamble or the most expensive ounce of Eubank’s career, north-London floodlights will soon decide.

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Image Credit: Matchroom Boxing