By Chris Daly: Boxing legend Nigel Benn insists that his son, unbeaten welterweight contender, Conor Benn, won’t be ruined by taking on middleweight Chris Eubank Jr. next in October.
On Twitter, a poster compared the Eubank Jr vs. Benn fight to the September 2016 match between middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin and Kell Brook.
Some boxing fans feel that Benn (21-0, 14, could be heading down the same road as Brook by going up in weight to take on the big puncher Eubank Jr.
In that fight, Brook moved up in weight from 147 to challenge IBF/IBO/WBC 160-lb champion Golovkin for his titles in London and ended up in disaster with Kell suffering an injury that led to the contest being halted in the fifth round.
Afterward, Brook’s career was never the same as before he moved up to take on Golovkin at middleweight.
What could be more of a problem for the 25-year-old Conor Benn is the massive step up in class, going from fighting mediocre cannon fodder opposition at 147 to battling one of the best middleweights on the planet in Eubank Jr. (32-2, 23 KOs). It’s fair to say Benn is asking for trouble by taking this fight.
This is wat Conor wants, this won’t ruin Conor he’s not made lie that, well let’s c how he does well I’m backing him, win lose or draw my friend 😉👍🏾
— Nigel Benn (@NigelGBenn) July 14, 2022
While you can argue that Eubank Jr. isn’t quite as powerful as Golovkin was in 2016, he’s pretty close and has power in both hands. Eubank Jr is a far better combination puncher than Golovkin, and Conor Benn has never fought anyone near as good.
“I think there are still things to iron out. They need to iron out what weight it’s going to be made at,” said Gareth A. Davies to iFL TV about why Eddie Hearn is denying that Conor Benn is fighting Chris Eubank Jr. next.
“I’m hearing it’s going to be made around 155, 156. So, Conor Benn is probably not going to have to lose much at all, but Chris Eubank is.
“Chris Eubank Jr is a massive favorite in this fight in spite of the fact that he has to lose some weight, and I imagine there will be a rehydration clause because we don’t want a guy [Eubank Jr] that is 18 to 20 lbs heavier than the other guy [Benn].
“It’s a massive fight for a lot of different reasons. Big family stuff on the line here, blood on the line. It’s for legacy. It’s a fantastic fight. In my view, Conor Benn can lose this fight, and as long as he doesn’t have a really horrific fight, he can go back down to welterweight with his welterweight aspirations intact.
“Hey, if it’s a great fight, maybe they’ll do it twice, and also, it’s a brilliant stylistic matchup. Eubank likes to counter punch, and Conor Benn comes forward. I love this fight, and I love that the old men [Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank] will get involved,” said Davies.
