(Action Images via Reuters / Reuters)
Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn was one of the most anticipated fights in British boxing’s recent history. It lived up to the hype.
Eubank edged Benn in a 12-round middleweight thriller, winning 116-112 — eight rounds to four — on all three of the judges’ scorecards on Saturday in front of a sold-out crowd of 67,484 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
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The first big surprise of the night came when Eubank Jr. arrived at the venue with his Hall of Fame father, Chris Eubank Sr. Eubank Sr. was a vocal critic of the fight in its lead-up and refused to acknowledge it would happen, so when he emerged accompanying his son, the moment came as a shock.
Benn had the first breakthrough of the fight, rocking Eubank with a fast left hook around the one-minute mark in Round 3. For the first half of the fight, Eubank opted to box Benn on the back foot and stay away from danger as much as possible.
In the second half, Eubank fought a completely different fight, trying to push Benn back and outwork him. From Round 7 onward, the pair traded huge power shots in exchanges — and that’s when the size of Eubank, who is naturally two weight classes heavier, came into play.
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Benn’s legs buckled from a Eubank left hook with a minute to go in the eighth round. Benn showed a tremendous chin throughout the fight, refusing to go down, even when he was hurt on multiple occasions in the final round with the left hook.
“Everything surprised me. I didn’t know he had what he had in him,” Eubank said afterward. “I really didn’t. I thought I would break him early. I underestimated him. I didn’t train for a fight like that. I didn’t know he had that in him, he’s never showed that. But then again, he’s never had to show it. He had to show it tonight, and so did I.
“I knew I was capable of that. I just needed someone to bring that out of me,” Eubank added. “I’m not going to lie, I did not expect that he’d be the guy to do that. But the fact that our fathers did what they did all those years ago, it brings out a different soul, a different spirit. That’s what we both showed here tonight.”
Benn said after the fight that he wanted either a rematch with Eubank — which is his contractual right— or a world title shot back at his natural weight against WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios.
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Much was made of the pair’s clash following in the footsteps of their famous fathers, Chris Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn, who had two epic fights in the 1990s.
Eubank Jr. and Benn certainly did their last names proud.
Get full Eubank vs. Benn results, highlights and round-by-round play-by-play below.
Main card
Middleweight: Chris Eubank Jr. def. Conor Benn via unanimous decision (116-112, 116-112, 116-112)
Light heavyweight: Anthony Yarde def. Lyndon Arthur via unanimous decision (115-113, 116-112, 116-112)
Middleweight: Aaron McKenna def. Liam Smith via unanimous decision (119-108, 117-109, 118-108)
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Cruiserweight: Viddal Riley def. Cheavon Clarke via unanimous decision (116-112, 117-111, 115-113)
Cruiserweight: Chris Billam-Smith def. Brandon Glanton via unanimous decision (116-113, 116-112, 116-112)
