Eubank Jr defeats Benn in a spectacular fight

Chris Eubank Jr (35-3, 25 KOs) dealt Conor Benn (23-1, 14 KOs) first defeat in professional boxing career.

Eubank Jr defeated Benn via unanimous decision (116:112 on cards of all three judges) on Saturday night in front of 65,000 fans in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It was a spectacular fight, with non-stop action and in the end, judges saw Eubank Jr as winner of the middleweight 12-rounder.

The fight between the sons of former world champions and archrivals Chris Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn, who met twice in the 1990s, was called off in 2022 when Benn tested positive for trace amounts of fertility drug clomifene.

“I knew I was capable of that, and I just needed someone to bring that out of me. I did not expect him to be the guy to do that,” Eubank told DAZN.

“The fact our fathers did it before brings out the soul in you”.

“I did not know he [Benn] had what he had in him. I thought I’d break him early. I didn’t train for a fight like that.”

Both fathers were present, 32 years on from their last clash, and embraced in the ring before the opening bell.

The fight itself rolled back the years from the scraps that their fathers produced with sheer aggression and energy dominating.

“It was close,” Benn said after. “I need to watch it back. I thought I won. Maybe I stayed on the ropes for too long. I enjoyed it, and it was a massive homecoming.

“We always knew Chris was a good fighter, and has good fighting talk.”

It was controversy day before fight. Eubank Jr missed the weight by 0.05 lbs. But he managed to reach 170 lbs limit in the weigh-in in day of fight.

A rematch between the pair is in the contract, and promoter Eddie Hearn was clear that it needs to happen.

“I couldn’t split them. I thought Benn was winning the fight and then lost the last two rounds,” Hearn told DAZN.

“It is what it is, but I didn’t see Eubank winning that by four rounds.

“Benn became the people’s champion.

“It was one of the most dramatic fights I’ve seen.

“Those two warriors should respect each other after that.”