A clash between middleweight Chris Eubank Jr (32-2, 23 KOs) and welterweight Conor Benn (21-0, 14 KOs) is on for October 8 at the O2 in London as the sons of two of the sport’s most famous names battle it out in a second-generation showdown on DAZN. It is reported the bout will be contested at a 156lb catch weight.
Chris Eubank Jr: “I grew up watching their legendary battles and always wanting to emulate that, and find my own arch nemesis… could this now be Conor Benn? We will find out. He has walked the same path as I have. I know his struggle. Living in the shadow of a legend and trying to break out of that shadow and make his own name. If he can beat me, his name will be made, and he will never walk in his father’s shadow again.”
Conor Benn: “This fight is for the legacy and was an opportunity I felt I couldn’t pass up. My team and I had other options on the table as I’m currently ranked top 5 with all governing bodies at welterweight and no doubt I’m looking for a World Championship fight very soon, but this fight is embedded with so much history and I know it’s one the public really want to see. To me this fight is personal – it’s more than titles and rankings, this is unfinished business between our families!”
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Eubank Sr and Benn Sr captured the nation’s imagination with their bitter rivalry during a boom era for British boxing in the early nineties. The pair laid it all on the line in front of millions on terrestrial TV, sharing two legendary battles in 1990 and 1993. Eubank Sr stopped his foe in the ninth round of their first bruising battle at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.
It took three years for the rematch to happen which took place at a sold-out Old Trafford in Manchester. The clash for the WBC and WBO super middleweight titles ended in a draw and the pair never fought each other again. But their sons will reignite the family feud in one of the biggest fights the UK has ever seen.
So why would Benn’s team do a catch weight @56?? So Eubank comes down 4 pounds and Conor goes up 9 pounds to a division(s) he’s never fought in? I just don’t get this move?? Not like he’s going up to fight The Champ by risking it all? Remember when Brook went up to fight GGG?! It was for legacy and all the marbles….
Guess the $$$ add up, will be a massive crowd for this one and should be pretty entertaining
Complete distraction from Conor’s career path. It may be lucrative but Benn is on the up in the welterweight division, whereas Eubank Jr has kind of middled out with failures against crunch rivals. Benn should be seeking a fight with Vergil Ortiz.
I disagree. This is important to the fighters, their dads, and their families. Their legacies. Plus, I think this will be a great fight. Pick-em match up. I for one am very excited about it. Benn hates the fact his dad lost to Junior’s dad. Conor is pissed off about it. He wanted this fight before turning pro. I am paying to see this. 50/50 fight in my opinion. One the youngster can win.
I bet the 2 fathers are juiced up for this fight.
nah that was only during their fighting careers
Litterally
Benn is the smaller man in this contest, but he is the most talented and perhaps the hardest puncher. This fight has the words gritty and great written all over, Connor should be the winner IMO in a very close fight.
Not a good move for Benn at all, as money seems to be the motivating facto here. If you don’t have your health, you can’t enjoy your bread. Eubank came down from Super Middleweight recently to campaign at Middleweight. He’s too big for Benn.
I am not sure about that. The fact that he was fighting at supermiddle and now having to make 156 may not bode well for Eubank. Donaire and Glen Johnson did ok coming back down in weight but for many like Leonard and Delahoya against Norris and Pac it was a bad move. That said…the money is huge and one never knows if an opportunity like that comes around again. Also Eubank is a good fighter but is no close to prime GGG like Brook fought.
They can capitalize on their names while it’s still possible. You never know, a fight where both fighters have nothing to lose with high crowd expectation might just end up surprisingly entertaining.
Am I hoping for too much here?
I’m a bit torn between two feelings, at first i was stocked about this fight but after it i felt like there’s nothing to win for Benn Jr in such a matchup. He’s smaller and comes up, he’s well ranked in the ww division and Eubank Jr is on is way out in my opinion. If Benn loses it, that could damage his career in a bad way..
Benn has nothing to lose jumping up in weight. If he loses, it’s to a bigger man physically and he’ll keep his current welterweight rankings and make a lot of money. Assuming he doesn’t get damaged or hurt he will rebound career wise and he has a good chance of winning. Eubank has fought good competition though many were past their prime (Degale, Abraham). He looked pretty good recently against Williams and should be favored over Benn.
This is gonna be massive. Not sure about the weight issue.
With a stern test at welter right there, namely David Avanesyan, I don’t quite understand this fight. Benn will be a massive underdog against the bigger, stronger Eubank jnr. I expect a comfortable decision win for Junior.
Boxing really only caters to the casual low IQ boxing fan anymore. Meaningless fights to make only the people in the business of boxing money, while the fan gets screwed.
I love it, Benn has it all before him with his career, but has diverted to this. It has to be personal as f#ck considering his old man was 0-1 from 2 & possibly burns in his veins to get a W against the Eubanks for himself and his old man. Prepared to sh1t on a promising career, jump weights, insanity against any other opponent but i’m guessing he just has to try and fix a blemish on the family history. Just love it
I want to applaud both men. Real Men. Not pussies like Merrick Garland.
These guys are 2 great sons of 2 great boxers. I don’t care who wins. I respect both Chris & Conor. I wish there could be 2 winners in this fight. Guys, good luck and may the best MAN win. That’s right, MEN. 2 great MEN.
Good luck, Chris & Conor. I will be watching.
I think something is odd going on. Why would Benn and Eubank seem pretty happy at the presser. Perhaps they are going to duplicate the money when they have a rematch?