Will Chris Eubank Jr vs Connor Benn be next?
When Chris Eubank Jr and Connor Benn were first announced to be facing off, there was an initial air of surprise, scepticism and intrigue. Two sons of British boxing legends and fierce rivals, separated by two weight classes, facing off in what appeared to be a money spinner more than anything else.
A few weeks later, with the marketing machine in full cycle behind them, before we knew it the British boxing scene was completely captivated, clamouring to see the perceived mega fight unfold. That was until, in true boxing style, a last-minute curve ball was thrown our way, with news of Connor Benn returning an adverse finding, breaking just days before they were due to face off.
What has transpired since then has been an absolute mess, particularly for the son of ‘The Dark Destroyer.’ As his father once did, Connor has threatened to rip up his British boxing licence on account of a supposed hate campaign against him, been berated by large proportions of those who would have previously identified as fans, had a far from redeeming performance on ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’, before finally being seemingly cleared by UKAD, until the British Boxing Board then launched an appeal against the ban being lifted.
In terms of his adversary, Chris Eubank Jr, he himself had seen his career deviate to the brink of irrelevancy. Once the Benn fight was no longer on the table, he settled for a still exciting domestic clash with Liam Smith, even if it didn’t hold the same historic narrative or worth. The fight itself however, saw him climb off the canvas as he was comprehensively stopped for the first time in his career, within just four rounds.
Following this defeat and before the Smith vs Eubank Jr rematch was announced, there was strong murmurings that the domestic blockbuster between Eubank Jr and Benn was all but agreed once more, this time in Saudi, which in the end turned out to be nothing more than rumours. With Eubank Jr now coming off a conclusive stoppage defeat in his revenge win over Smith, the fight with Benn wouldn’t have captured the public’s imagination with the same zest that it did during their first intended bout.
And yet here we are again, several months on from that point, with the fight likely being bigger than it ever has been before.
Despite being an overwhelming underdog, last Saturday night the Brighton residing slickster put on a one-sided exhibition against what appeared to be a severely weight drained and leg injury inhibited Liam Smith.
The fight followed a similar pattern to their first encounter for the first three rounds, with Eubank Jr boxing nicely without too much drama unfolding, albeit with an undercurrent that Liam Smith could spring into life at any moment. However, on this occasion, instead of ‘Beefy’ landing a clean shot to set up a fight ending flurry, from this point onwards Chris Eubank Jr, with Brian McIntyre in his corner, put on a one sided clinic, starting with dropping Smith with a sharp right uppercut in the fourth, before eventually forcing his corner to throw in the towel in round 11.
Off the back of a significant win, all of a sudden, the former 168lb IBO title holder has the world at his feet to call out whomever he choses. Considering the Middleweight division is the weakest it has been in some time, he is now faced with a choice. Target a name unknown to the wider boxing audience such as Zhanibek Alimkhanuly or Carlos Adames for a world title,or revisit the domestic blockbuster with the self-proclaimed ‘Destroyer’, likely for some 10x the purse. Of course, Gennady Golovkin would also be a mega fight, but he will have no shortage of options himself, and the fight with Benn will still hold greater financial reward.
Looking back to one week prior before their supposed first encounter, no domestic dust up had quite captured the public attention in recent years. If the fight does indeed get made, this time around adding to the bitter feud of their fathers, we now have a genuine backstory between the two sons and now legitimate rivals in their own right. You could argue it is for the wrong reasons, but isn’t it always in boxing? David Haye vs Derek Chisora springs to mind, which wasn’t licensed by the BBBofC either.
However, the fact of the matter is that the adverse finding from the Welterweight knockout artist adds a layer of controversy, and in the world of boxing controversy sells. In addition, the main critique of the previous match up was the catchweight of 155lbs and what this might do to the punch resistance of Eubank Jr, however with the public backlash and subsequent comments by Benn, it appears that drawback will also be no more, with the two combatants willing to go at it at the middleweight limit of 160lbs.
The one final issue to iron out is Connor Benn being cleared to fight in the UK due to the appeal launched by the board to UKAD. However, even if this was impossible to overcome, as was mooted before, one would imagine the fight would still go ahead in Saudi.
Chris Eubank Jr may have been one defeat away from retirement heading into his last fight, and Connor Benn may well not yet be cleared entirely of his adverse finding, but this is the wild west world of boxing. In their next bouts, love it or loathe it, the two will likely face off next in the biggest fight and pay day of their respective careers.
Article sponsored by HÖRFA