LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 26: Chris Eubank Jr (white shorts) fights Conor Benn during their Middleweight contest at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 26, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Mark Robinson/Getty Images).
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The first Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn fight was scripted like a professional wrestling storyline.
It was a matchup of sons whose fathers had been rivals 30 years prior. It was a crossroads bout where an aging fighter in Eubank who was bigger and more experienced took on a younger, hungrier opponent in Benn who was coming up in weight and presumably more energetic. It was the positive drug tests from Benn that had delayed the fight by a couple of years. It was the egg Eubank smashed on the side of his rival’s face in a prefight press conference.
And it was the relationship between Chris Eubank Sr. and Chris Eubank Jr., the former of whom had been critical of his son’s pre-fight theatrics and the fact that Chris Jr., a super middleweight, was cutting weight to reach the 160-pound limit to face Benn. In fact, here’s what the elder Eubank said about 10 days before the first fight. “I’m going to stand in your corner? You must be mad. I would never be in your corner. You’re a disgrace. You’re smashing an egg against someone’s face and then you’re trying to justify it. There’s no justification for that. There’s nothing noble about that.”
That was the pre-fight script, and the climax of the production was fantastic. Eubank Sr. emerged from a limo (just like Vince McMahon might have done!) during the arena entrance video (all had been forgiven!) that garnered a huge pop from the crowd (like the roar The Rock would’ve received!). Eubank survived some rocky moments against Benn but managed to fight wonderfully and win a decision in what could very well be the 2025 fight of the year.
The referee didn’t count 1-2-3 to end it, but the event felt cinematic.
“People likened it to WWE, which it obviously wasn’t, but that’s what made it so much more amazing. It exceeded boxing,” Eubank Jr. told me last month. “What it meant to people, seeing you can come through tough times and unite when it means the most. That’s something the world could see. It wasn’t just a sporting event. It was life.”
The drama, the WWE-ness of it all, has been dampened down, at least so far, heading into the fight week of Eubank vs. Benn II, which will occur Saturday at 11:45am ET on DAZN PPV. Eubank raised some eyebrows by accusing Benn’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, of stopping Eubank’s ambulance from leaving the arena after their first matchup (Hearn has been baffled by that accusation). But otherwise, Eubank has been more subdued. He said his dad – who fought and beat Benn’s father, Nigel, in 1990 and then fought to a draw in 1993 – will be in attendance on Saturday.
Eubank seemed to take comfort that he won’t have to deal with that drama this time around.
Still, he wasn’t satisfied with how he performed vs. Benn the first time. Yes, Eubank (35-3, 25 KOs) was proud of the event and in the quality of the fight vs. Benn (23-1, 14 KOs). Eubank just wasn’t happy about how it ended – he won 116-112 on all three scorecards.
“I should have stopped Conor Benn,” Eubank said. “For any fighter, that’s the mentality you should have. It’s not like I’m disappointed in the way I fought. I put everything on the line. I did everything I could. But every fighter wants the knockout. That’s what we we’re going for.
“He’s a young gun. When I was a young fighter, if I’m fighting a 36-year-old man, I’m not losing. This is a young man’s sport. Experience was my biggest advantage going into the fight . . . I wasn’t expecting for him to be as tough and resilient as he was. That’s one thing I will give him.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 26: Chris Eubank Jr makes his Ring Walk with his dad Chris Eubank Snr at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 26, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Mark Robinson/Getty Images)
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In April, Eubank was favored by oddsmakers to stop Benn, but Benn, who was moving up from 147 pounds and who had been suspended for two years from fighting in Britain after a positive drug test in 2022, shook off Eubank’s power punches, seemingly without much trouble.
Eubank still managed of the best fights of his career, and he told me it was his most satisfying victory yet. But it seems that Eubank, who’s a -155 betting favorite for the rematch and who’s +225 to stop Benn this time, really wants that knockout in the rematch. He’s enlisted more help.
After losing to Liam Smith in 2023, Eubank hired famed trainer Brian McIntyre for the rematch nine months later, and Eubank ended up stopping Smith. Now, McIntyre is back.
“This isn’t a knock on [Team Benn]; I believe he’s going to be a little bit easier this time, for the simple fact [Eubank’s] already got his number,” McIntyre said. “It’s hard to get away from it when someone has already beaten your [backside]. It’s hard because it’s already stuck in your head.”
Eubank, assuming he’s victorious vs. Benn on Saturday, still has other goals. He badly wants to win a world championship (despite his career successes, he still hasn’t even fought for a major title), and he still wants an opportunity to face Canelo Alvarez in what would be assuredly the biggest payday of Eubank’s career.
But against Benn on Saturday, he really wants another storybook ending.
“A loss to Conor Benn would be devastating, especially for where I’m setting myself up to be in the next couple of years,” Eubank said. “The pressure is massive. It’s just as big as it was the first time. I’m preparing accordingly . . . I don’t want the fight to go 12 rounds again. This time, I want to stop this kid.”