Defeat to Conor Benn in their high-stakes rematch has done little to quash Chris Eubank Jr.’s championship hopes.
The generational boxing rivals fought twice in 2025 with Eubank prevailing in their first bout, a Fight of the Year epic, before Benn rallied in the rematch to score a clean win of his own. Both fights took place at middleweight, with rehydration clauses that appeared to favor Benn and hamper Eubank.
That blemish, the fourth of Eubank’s career, hasn’t shunted the 36-year-old out of the title landscape as he returns to super middleweight.
The 168-pound division is currently open considering Terence Crawford’s retirement statement just weeks after he out-classed Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in front of approximately 70,000 fans at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas — an event Boxing Social attended at the time.
With Crawford hanging up his gloves, it freed up the belts.
And, according to WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, Eubank is “absolutely” positioned to challenge for his sanctioning body’s title. “Chris Eubank a tremendous fighter,” he told Sky Sports on Monday.
“I believe he sacrificed too much with the weight and he’s a natural fighter for that division. Great potential. Super fighter.”
“He’s a world-class fighter without a doubt.”
The WBC’s current champion is Christian Mbilli, whom it elevated to that stature in January, earlier this year, succeeding Crawford, after the French-Canadian boxer won the interim belt for beating Maciej Sulecki by first-round knockout in June, 2025. He defended the title with a split draw he shared with Lester Martinez on the Canelo-Crawford undercard.
He and Martinez are expected to box a rematch imminently, but it’s not the only option available to the WBC, Sulaiman said.
“We’re going to address the situation in the following weeks to see what is coming up for Mbilli and the division. Of course, Canelo, [Jaime] Munguia, Lester Martinez, Luka Plantic,” are in the picture. “There are so many fighters who can make great fights for the champion, Mbilli.”
As for Eubank, he said toward the end of 2026 that he will continue his career once recovered from the Benn rematch. “One thing’s for certain,” he said, “for the fans that have supported me through thick and thin, I will do everything in my power to make sure that one day the old me makes a big comeback.”
Whether that’s against Mbilli, the Mbilli-Martinez winner, or Mbilli-Canelo winner remains to be seen.