Saudi adviser Turki Alalshikh has said he wants the winner of Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn to fight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez next, in a surprising revelation.
British rivals Eubank Jr and Benn will square off in London on 26 April, two-and-a-half years after they were first due to box, and the long road to rearranging the fight has seen Eubank Jr linked with Canelo multiple times.
However, the idea of Benn vs Canelo is a fresh one, and unexpected given the weight disparity.
Welterweight Benn is already moving up two divisions to fight Eubank Jr, from 147lb to 160lb. To box Canelo, Benn would likely have to move up again, to super-middleweight at 167lb.
It is there that Canelo holds the unified titles, and he will try to regain undisputed status when he boxes William Scull in May. Then, in September, the Mexican star is due to fight Terence Crawford.
“Whoever is the winner [between Benn and Eubank Jr], we are working in the future to have him fight against Canelo,” Alalshikh told Sky Sports. “If Eubank wins, he will have the chance to do Canelo at the beginning of 2026.”
Eubank Jr vs Benn collapsed on a few days’ notice in October 2022, upon the revelation that Benn had failed two drug tests in the lead-up to the fight.
A long saga involving UK Anti-Doping and the British Boxing Board of Control saw Benn barred from fighting on home soil, with the 28-year-old instead fighting in the US twice – beating Rodolfo Orozco and Peter Dobson on points in 2023 and 2024, respectively. He was recently cleared to box in the UK again, at last setting up his bout with Eubank Jr at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Eubank Jr vs Benn is a unique extension of the bitter rivalry between their fathers, Chris Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn, in the 1990s. The latter stopped Nigel Benn in 1990, before they fought to a draw in 1993. Eubank Jr and Conor Benn will face off at two press conferences this week, in Manchester on Tuesday and in London on Thursday.
A bout between Benn and Canelo would be a surprising inclusion in the Mexican’s four-fight deal with the Saudis. That deal begins with his fight against Scull, continues against Crawford, and is set to feature two fights in 2026.
The unbeaten Crawford is a four-weight champion like Canelo, and was undisputed in two divisions, but the American will have to hit a career-highest weight to face Canelo in Las Vegas.
