Conor Benn doesn’t hesitate when asked if Chris Eubank Jr should retire after health update

Conor Benn now believes bitter rival Chris Eubank Jr’s time in boxing is now up.

Benn and Eubank Jr met for a second time in November last year, which saw the former drop and beat his bitter foe to get his sweet revenge.

Matchroom Boxing

During the fight, Eubank Jr looked a shadow of himself despite this time making the 160lbs weight limit, and faced widespread calls to retire.

The calls intensified after the clash, with Eubank Jr posting worrying footage of him receiving a medical procedure to deal with an ongoing issue.

He suggested that the condition plagued his preparations, but his promoter Ben Shalom expects him to make a full recovery moving forward.

Given Eubank Jr’s recent health, it is unclear if he will return to the ring, but Shalom believes he could well do so at 168lbs.

But Benn believes now, with children on the way, there is no better time for his famous foe to hang up his gloves.

He said: “Do I think he should call it a day? Personally, I think he should sail off into the sunset.

“It’s always hard to do that with a loss but I think he should call it a day.

“He’s got twin boys, two beautiful twin boys, that have come into this world and sometimes you need to prioritise your health and safety over everything else.

“But for some reason I’ll be expecting a phone call once he realises 168lbs is not for him. Who’s he going to fight at 168lbs?”

Chris Eubank Jr latest – could he return?

Eubank Jr looks like he is beyond his physical prime, but still carries commercial star power.

But he would need to show drastic improvement to get anywhere near the big names in the future.

His promoter, Shalom, does expect him to consider his options once the condition is dealt with.

“He’s had a lot of stuff to do medically to really try and flush and get rid of what he’s been dealing with,” he said.

“So once that’s done, he will be back, probably at 168lbs. Hopefully looking forward to him being back in the middle of the year.”

talkSPORT verdict

Simon Jordan is not in agreement with Shalom, but instead Benn, and thinks he cannot compete at world level even at 168lbs.

He suggested: “It’s what’s left of him as a fighter. And at super middleweight, you’ve got Terence Crawford now vacated, you’ve got Canelo as a declining force.

“But I think if he takes a meaningful fight in that division, like against someone like Hamzah Sheeraz, he loses all day.

“As a fighter, I think that’s all done.”