Reflections – BBN writer Donald C Stewart did not buy into the Eubank-Benn fight and asks the question, “So, was I wrong?”
Was I wrong to think that the Chris Eubank Jr. vs Conor Benn fight was simply a soap opera or a circus that was going to deliver a less than edifying spectacle for us all?
Narrative states that this was a British classic – Benn and Eubank Jr. fought to a standstill. They provided enough excitement that 72,000 people in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium stood up and applauded them. It was hailed as a classic British fight, a fight for the ages.
On the undercard there were new beginnings and old faces as Aaron McKenna beat off former world champ Liam Smith; old scores were seemingly settled between Lyndon Arthur and Anthony Yarde; and we saw the return of ‘The Gentleman’ Chris Billam-Smith in a tough fight.
Almost everything that was on the line at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium seemed to have value, and mainstream boxing was once again in mainstream media. Channel 4 managed to interview both boxers and the newspapers and news lines across the whole of the internet were filled with every twist and every turn.
The build-up delivered from the very first press conference, having sold out the allocation of tickets within minutes, this was boxing at its very best.
So, was I wrong to suggest that this was something I didn’t want to see?
Well, I still think that this was the wrong fight. Although, to be fair to both, I cannot question the bravery that Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn showed going into that ring.
But here is narrative 2, and here are the things that make this difficult.
Let us begin with, we were conned. By heavens, were we conned. Beautifully, I have to say, but conned, nonetheless.
Chris Eubank Sr. said that he was always going to be there. Having had one of the most incredibly difficult to watch interviews on TalkSport with Simon Jordan, he drew us into the sucker punch which was his own grand arrival alongside his son. If he was always going to be there, why was he in TalkSport, talking about his silence speaking volumes? A family drama has now been brought into the centre of this ring. By doing that, any suggestions or questions about the rift, real or pretend, is fair game for comment. People had given the two of them respect in a way that the conflict within the Fury family had been afforded the same. When Tyson Fury changed trainers from his uncle to Ben Davidson, people kept respectfully silent. The Eubanks have used this “family feud” to promote Harlem and to denigrate Chris. I think it was Carl Frampton who commented that for somebody who doesn’t want anything to do with this fight he (Senior) seems to have a lot to say about it: now we know why.
It was doubled down on when accompanying Michael Watson on his public walk Chris Eubank Sr. talked about the dangers of this fight and berated journalists calling them a complete and utter disgrace. How are they going to respond now I wonder?
Secondly, the fight week itself.
Seeing a boxer going through what they must go through to get their weight down was gruelling to watch. However, what it did demonstrate is just exactly what pugilists do to provide us with the entertainment we crave.
Next up – filthy lucre. From missing weight by a Cadbury’s cream egg, having a £100,000 egg thrust into the side of Conor Benn’s cheek, the £1 Million bet that could not be made, or the payments to undercard fighters from the first cancelled fight in a gesture of apology by Eubank Jr. – money seems to be a plaything for people irrespective of the price attached to their dignity.
Oh, and what about the rehydration clause that Chris Eubank Jr. – standard for the IBF by the way – complained about? It seemed to have no effect or make any difference to him going in the ring as he managed to cope with it. The extra half a million dollars that Conor Benn will receive for him having missed weight first time round is going to be no consolation to Benn having lost.
Of course, there are further WWE antics including Billy Joe Saunders being refused entry to look at the hand wraps as well as the fight in the gloves room between the Eubank camp and the British Boxing Board of Control Secretary, Robert Smith! Both added to the pantomime.
But let’s go back to the journalists.
Journalists split, for me, into two camps. There are those that are legitimate and there are those who had a video camera. The number of cameras during fight week being pushed into people’s faces and thrown around to get clickbait was a pantomime in itself. There are some that I really respect because they have done their work, not believing that this entails recording interviews like it gives them knowledge: but there are some who seem to be there for a jolly. As Eubank Jr. was going off to a taxi to get away from the weigh-in, he berated them for being poor journalists. Why? They had run out of questions and were now just repeating what someone else had been saying. They were embarrassing. There were interviews during the week that were poor. On top of that Donald McRae in a Guardian article on the day of the fight, spoke of how some legitimate journalists were now being denied access to events because they had been critical of those events, previous events or the Saudi regime. Their money appears to buy a little more than just presence on these platforms.
Being able to control anyone’s narrative and allow only those that will peddle the nonsense that they want to get out there is troubling. Instead of genuine journalistic integrity placed at the heart of this sport we have Chris Eubank Sr. attacking journalists for not doing their job properly when he was playing them along. This is something that will never be investigated but certainly must be questioned.
And sell out? Tickets were available for it right up to the weekend. Saturday morning, The Guardian reported through Donald McRae, once more, that they were still able to buy cheap tickets for it. Anyone picking up a late ticket often sorts a bet at the same time, and our guide to betting sites that accept PayPal explains which bookmakers take the wallet rather than a card.
And so, what’s next for the two of them?
Conor Benn managed to emerge from his doping scandal to be a legitimate fighter at the weight and a dangerous fighter too. He took his defeat with humility. His reference to the reconciliation between father and son, Junior and Senior, being more than boxing ever was going to be is something that gave this a degree of gravitas and respect that in many ways in the build-up it simply did not deserve.
There is a rematch clause and potentially Benn gets to run it back later this year. Please don’t. Staying at that weight and not going back down to welterweight longer than he needs to might cause him significant difficulties if he wanted a welterweight fight for the WBC title.
I believe that he is a genuine welterweight world title contender.
As for Eubank Jr.? Rematches can be tricky, and it would possibly suit Eubank Jr. given where he is in his career to run that back again more than Benn.
Eubank Jr. might well be up against Billy Joe Saunders with Saunders having suggested that a warm-up fight would get him close to a rematch that could certainly do the numbers that Eubank Jr./ Benn did first time round.
At 35, he’s probably two or three fights away from calling it a day. At that point, you don’t tend to look at your cupboard to see how many belts and trophies there are but look at your bank balance to see whether or not you can afford to retire.
Hopefully genuine journalists will have the opportunity to question next steps for both properly rather than having fanboys running about with cameras and asking inane questions to get favoured with the next press pass.
So, was I wrong? I don’t think so but perhaps I should shut up – after all, look at what silence spoke for the Eubanks.
More articles by Donald C Stewart
