Boxing

Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn Lived Beyond Expectations

Chris Eubank Jr. vs Conor Benn was everything fans could have hoped for and then some.
Nathaniel Marrero|
Chris Eubank Jr. lands a jab against Conor Benn
Chris Eubank Jr. lands a jab against Conor Benn | Matchroom Boxing/Mark Robinson

Few things empower someone more than making a relative close to them proud.

Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn did more than make their fathers proud on Saturday. They delivered and cemented their own legacies in an epic Fight of the Year contender that Eubank Jr. won by unanimous decision in front of a sold-out crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The rivalry first began with their fathers, Chris Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn, and they delivered a pair of electric world title fights, with Eubank Sr. winning by stoppage in 1990 and the second fight ending in a draw in 1993. With the two fights they had, Eubank Jr. and Benn had a high bar to clear if they were going to surpass their fathers' performances.

The expectations became even more lofty with the tense build-up that was largely due to Benn failing a drug test that caused their scheduled bout in October of 2022 to be canceled days before they were supposed to fight. Then, with the rematch agreed to over two years later, the two met for the first press conference after the fight was officially announced and Eubank Jr. smacked Benn with an egg at the press conference to announce the fight.

The two shared an uber-intense final press conference before the fight on Thursday. The following day, Eubank Jr. narrowly missed weight and couldn't gain more than 10 pounds before the morning of the fight due to the rehydration clause. Combine that with the absence of Eubank Sr, and a fight that only made sense because of their last names nearly three years ago had turned into a blood feud.

Rarely do the stars align for a fight between bitter rivals to live up to expectations. On Saturday, the stars couldn't have been more in sync than they were with Eubank Jr. and Benn.

Any questions about what could be in store were answered before Eubank Jr. and Benn stepped into the ring. Eubank Jr. arrived at the stadium with his father, who hadn't made an appearance the entire fight week. Eubank Sr., appearing out of the car with his son, sent Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the boxing world ablaze. Then, after both fighters made their epic walks to the ring, the stage was set for something special to happen inside the squared circle.

As the fight progressed and many rounds were extremely difficult to score, a fire slowly built as Eubank Jr. and Benn took turns being in control of the fight. Benn came out of the gates like a bat shot out of hell and was the more explosive of the two, while Eubank Jr.'s volume and cleaner shots made his case to win some of the closer rounds.

Eubank Jr. appeared to be in control in the middle rounds as he landed the cleaner and more effective blows, while Benn slowed down after his torrid start to the fight. Then, as the rounds passed in the second half of the fight, it changed course again. Eubank Jr. slowed down and could barely move around the ring while Benn caught his second wind and connected with huge shots.

That set the stage for an epic 12th round. By that point, the fight had gone from a fire into a full blown inferno, and the entire build-up and the bitter rivalry between Eubank Jr. and Benn got poured into their final three minutes trading blows.

Benn and Eubank Jr. combined to throw 200 punches and land 86, with the latter of which connecting with 57, including 54 power shots, per CompuBox. Eubank Jr. seemingly had Benn hurt on numerous occasions, but he refused to go down. In the final 20 seconds, Benn gave as good as he got, trying to turn the tide.

By the time the final bell rang, another classic involving the last names Eubank and Benn was delivered and both fighters brought something out of each other that they hadn't shown before.

"I knew I was capable of that," Eubank Jr. said after the win. "I just needed someone to bring it out of me. I didn't expect he'd be the guy, but the fact that our fathers did what they did all those years ago — it brings out a different soul, a different spirit in you."

Eubank Jr. won 116-112 on all three judges' scorecards.

Regardless of the result, both fighters won and delivered another epic chapter in their rivalry. And with a rematch clause, fans may not have to wait long for Eubank Jr. and Benn to throw down again.

And above all, Eubank Jr. and Benn both delivered in a way that made their fathers and the boxing world proud.

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Nathaniel Marrero
NATHANIEL MARRERO

Nathaniel Marrero is a writer for the Boxing, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Ravens On SI sites. He's also written for the Orlando Sentinel and MLB.com, and was a part of UCF's sports show, Hitting The Field. He attended UCF and graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 2023. Twitter/X: Nate_Marrero

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