Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn fight: Bitter rivalry finally reaches the ring and has potential for fireworks

Dripping with questions, tension and uncertainty, Saturday’s All-England showdown in London between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn has quite simply become a circus and soap opera that you can’t turn away from. 

With enough controversy and family history between the brash rivals to fill a soccer stadium, this blood feud will do exactly that when 62,000 are expected at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in this 160-pound non-title bout. The event will also be the biggest non-heavyweight bout on United Kingdom soil since Carl Froch knocked out George Groves in front of 80,000 people inside Wembley Stadium in 2014. 

Even though the mercurial Eubank (34-3, 25 KOs) is considered to be in the twilight of his career at age 35 and the fact that many critics don’t believe the 28-year-old Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) has ever truly lived up to the enormous buzz that has followed his name, this blood feud has become must-see TV (DAZN PPV, noon ET) due to a variety of reasons. The fight will also headline the inaugural card in Saudi Arabian boxing adviser/investor Turki Alalshikh’s new “The Ring” series, which is sponsored by the legendary magazine he recently purchased.

Oddsmakers have also enlisted the bout as a virtual pick ’em with the bigger Eubank, a former super middleweight, slightly favored over Benn, who is moving up from 154 pounds. 

When this matchup was first scheduled in 2022, there wasn’t much drama attached to the fight, even with the familial history surrounding the two second-generation boxers and the fact that their fathers, Chris Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn, fought twice for titles at 160 and 168 pounds in the early 1990s, with Eubank scoring a ninth-round knockout in 1990 before their split draw three years later. 

Jaron Ennis unifies welterweight titles with sixth-round stoppage of Eimantas Stanionis

Brent Brookhouse

The fight between Eubank Jr. and Benn was also originally scheduled for a venue of just 20,000 at London’s O2 Arena. Three days before the fight, however, Benn tested positive for trace amounts of the banned fertility drug Clomiphene, which boosts testosterone levels while burning fat, and he blamed the adverse result upon a “highly-elevated consumption of eggs” during fight week. 

One day later, the fight was canceled and Benn voluntarily relinquished his British boxing license shortly after. Benn, who would later say he considered suicide after testing positive for the banned substance, was later cleared of any intentional doping in 2023 by the WBC, which cited his ingestion of eggs as a “reasonable expectation.” 

The fallout, however, continued to hurt Benn’s public reputation as he remained banned by the British Board of Boxing Control and was forced to bring his career to the United States. Critics felt his subsequently flat performances in a pair of decision wins over moderate opposition proved he wasn’t the same explosive fighter off of performance-enhancing drugs. 

It wasn’t until last November, after two years of legal battles for Benn, that UK Anti-Doping announced it would not appeal the decision by the National Anti-Doping Panel to lift his ban, which cleared any remaining hurdles for this generation’s Eubank-Benn rivalry to author at least one new chapter by allowing Benn to fight on British soil once again. 

By the time Feb. 25 came around for their kickoff press conference in Manchester, England, Eubank Jr.-Benn was seen as an intriguing British bout with some historical context attached to it given their family history, which was further exclaimed when shouting matches between both fathers and sons broke out on the dais. It wasn’t until the final face-off to the end the event, however, that this fight truly began to appeal to the global masses.

Eubank Jr., who had reportedly filled the pockets of his leather jacket with upwards of eight raw eggs, grabbed one and cracked it across the face of Benn, which led to a near melee including Nigel Benn grabbing Eubank Jr. by the throat before later apologizing. Eubank Jr. went on to be fined the equivalent of $130,000 for the outburst. 

Benn, who spoke to media members at Tuesday’s grand arrival in London, confirmed what just about everyone else assumed coming into this weekend, that the matchup has very much become personal. 

“It’s always personal, every opponent I fight is personal,” Benn said. “People want to say it’s strictly business, but it’s never business. If you’re trying to put your hands on me and render me unconscious, it’s never business. It’s always personal with every single one of my opponents, but this one has a little bit more history to it.”

The family drama between the two camps has only escalated in recent weeks but not in the way most expected. After Eubank Jr. was fined for the egg incident, his legendary father publicly labeled him a “disgrace” for instigating the viral moment, which surprisingly brought the younger Benn of all people to Eubank Jr.’s defense during fight week. 

“I don’t like to see a father and son fall out publicly; sort out your issues behind closed doors and make up,” Benn said. “I wish Chris didn’t say that about his son publicly. Regardless of him smashing the egg, he’s not a disgrace. He’s done really well for himself … I’m sad about that. I wish Chris backed his son.”

When it comes to the actual matchup inside the ring, most experts have focused on the natural size difference between the two boxers as Eubank Jr. will enter with a three-inch height advantage and nearly a five-inch reach edge, in addition to being the bigger man and puncher. But Eubank Jr. believes his edge in experience, having previously shared the ring with the likes of Liam Smith (twice), James DeGale, George Groves, Arthur Abraham and Billy Joe Saunders will make the real difference.

“This fight isn’t about size or weight. It’s about skill, it’s about dedication,” Eubank Jr. said. “It’s about expertise and all those areas in which I excel in. I have many, many more years of experience over Conor Benn, and that will be the deciding factor of the night.

“[It will be] domination in every department you can imagine. Whether it’s boxing, whether it’s a gun fight. Defense, offense, foot movement, speed, power — I am the superior boxer in each of those departments and so many more, which is why I’m so confident [and] so relaxed. Which is why I’m so happy.” 

Even though Benn owns respected wins over the likes of Adrian Granados, Chris Algieri and Chris van Heerden, all three came at welterweight. The Eubank Jr. fight represents Benn’s debut at 160 pounds following a so-so run of two fights at junior middleweight. 

Benn, undoubtedly, enters the toughest and most important fight of his pro career but he refuses to acknowledge that there is any pressure following him into this. 

“Ten years ago when I first turned pro, did I ever think that I’d end up here? Nah. But I am here, I’m built for it and I feel ready for it,” Benn said. “I’m loving the challenge of fighting at 160. I’m loving the competition. You thrive off challenges as a fighter. People are going to [say to] me, ‘are you not worried, how are you going to deal with it?’ This is what I do. I prepare for this. I do everything I possibly can in the gym, in training, that feels me with confidence. 

“Ultimately it’s another fight. That’s how I’m looking at it. He’s another opponent in my way trying to crush my dreams. trying to take food off my plate and trying to render me unconscious. That’s how I look at him.”

The truth is that this is anything but just another fight, not for the career arcs of the two boxers nor their family histories nor the expectations of fans worldwide who are focused in a little bit closer upon this All-England duel which promises fireworks and the potential for unhinged drama. 

May the best bloke win.