The third man in the ring when Chris Eubank Jnr and Conor Benn engage in Saturday’s middleweight rematch will be referee Kevin Parker. The three judges will be Howard Foster, John Latham, and Marcus McDonnell.
Parker, an official since 2012, is widely regarded as one of the best referees in the UK and is likely best known internationally for refereeing the rematch in February between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.
Eubank Jnr, 35-3 (25 KOs), should also be familiar with Parker. The official was on hand to rescue Liam Smith from Eubank Jnr in September 2023 as the Brighton star won that rematch in the 10th round. Parker is yet to referee a bout involving Benn, 29 years old and 23-1-1 (14 KOs).
The first contest, also staged at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, was won unanimously by the 36-year-old Eubank Jnr with all three judges – Mark Bates, Lee Every and Kieran McCann – posting 116-112 scores.
Foster, Latham and McDonnell will score this time. Foster was recently criticised for his stoppage of the Fabio Wardley-Joseph Parker heavyweight contest in favour of Wardley in his role as referee, and McDonnell triggered opinion when he scored Joshua Buatsi a 96-94 winner over Zach Parker in their recent light-heavyweight fight.
