Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn results, highlights: Eubank earns win over bitter rival in Fight of the Year

After a planned 2022 fight between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn fell through due to a failed Benn drug test, the decades of bad blood between the two men and their families hit a deeper level. Eubank and Benn finally stepped in the ring on Saturday in London and delivered a no-doubt Fight of the Year contender that Eubank won via unanimous decision after 12 incredible rounds of non-stop action.

Eubank arrived at the arena with his father, seemingly ending years of interpersonal struggles between father and son and drawing a massive reaction from the crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Once the fighters were in the ring, it was clear how much larger Eubank was. That size difference was to be expected as Eubank is a natural 160-pound fighter while Benn was coming up multiple divisions to make the British megafight, drawing on two historic fights between their fathers, Chris Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn, in the early 1990s. Eubank’s size had already cost him $500,000 when he missed weight by 0.05 pounds and had to keep his weight below 170 pounds due to a rehydration clause.

Despite the size difference, Benn came out fearlessly in the opening rounds, using angles and footwork to avoid Eubank’s jab and unloading with winging power shots that connected behind a quick jab. In the third round, Benn landed a heavy left that left Eubank with no option but to clinch and recover.

Eubank came back with a strong fourth round as the fight became increasingly chippy, with both men talking throughout the rounds and getting rough in the clinch.

The momentum continued to swing as rounds ticked by, with Eubank’s power and technique shining until Benn’s speed and aggression would swing things back his way. All the while, it felt like either man could land a shot that gave them a firm grasp of the fight.

In the seventh round, Eubank began to connect with clean power shots at a higher clip than previously in the fight. To his credit, Benn absorbed the shots and continued to fire back despite the concern that Eubank’s size would produce more power than Benn’s chin could handle.

As it seemed Eubank had begun to wear out Benn, Benn opened Round 9 with a furious assault, eating punches as he fired his own looping power shots. By the end of the round, Eubank had a cut above his right eye, though it came as a result of an accidental clash of heads.

The action did not stop until the final bell, with both men unloading shots through the 12th and final round. That last round saw Eubank land several crushing combinations, but just as had happened throughout the fight, Benn remained on his feet and fired his own powerful shots back.

At the end of the fight, all three judges scored the fight the same, awarding Eubank the win on scorecards of 116-112.

“I knew I was capable of that, I just needed someone to bring that out of me,” Eubank said after the victory. “I’m not going to lie, I didn’t expect he’d be the guy to do that. … Everything surprised me. I didn’t know he had what he had in him. I really didn’t. I thought I would break him early and I underestimated him. I didn’t train for a fight like that.”

Benn was dejected after the defeat but was keen on the idea of a rematch.

“Listen, we always knew Chris is a good fighter,” Benn said. “Fighting talk is fighting talk but he’s a good fighter. I believe I can fight at 160. If we don’t do the rematch, which I’d love to do, I can go back down to welterweight.”