By Charles Brun: Chris Eubank Jr (32-2, 23 KOs) says he’ll be retiring if he loses to welterweight Conor Benn (21-0, 14 KOs) on October 8th in their 157-lb catchweight fight.
As far as Eubank Jr is concerned, it’s “physically impossible” for the inexperienced 25-year-old Benn to beat him in their match at the O2 Arena in London. Eubank Jr says it would take a “miracle” and an “act of God” for Benn to pull off the upset win.
Benn has zero experience against true world class opposition, and he’s never fought anyone at middleweight. The guys that Eddie Hearn has been matching against Benn have been on the old side and well past their prime.
This is a win-win money fight for Benn, as even if he loses, he’s going to make so much money that it will lessen the sting of defeat.
Conor says he wanted to fight Yordenis Ugas and Keith Thurman, but they were busy. It’s a bit hard to believe that Hearn would go from matching Benn against Chris Van Heerden to putting him in with Thurman or Ugas.
“If he pulls off a miracle and beats me, I have to retire,” said Chris Eubank Jr to Matchroom Boxing about him retiring if he loses to Conor Benn on October 8th. “That’s a huge pressure. I’ve never said this.”
Well, if Eubank Jr does lose and retire, it’ll likely be one of those Tyson Fury-type retirements. In other words, Eubank Jr will retire for five months, and as soon as one of the promoters waves the money underneath his snoot, he’ll come out of retirement.
Conor Benn: “You’re in for a shock, you are. You’re mad, you are.”
Chris Eubank Jr: “I know I’m mad.”
Benn: “Ain’t no miracle. You’ve got someone sitting there that would rather fight Youtubers.”
Eubank Jr: “An act of God is what it would be for you to beat me.”
Benn: “Be a man of your word and retire then.”
Eubank Jr: “I’m always a man of my word. So that’s another reason why this is personal because I love being a fighter. I love the sport of boxing. I don’t want it to end.”
Unfortunately, Benn doesn’t possess the skills to win this fight against Eubank Jr. Even in Benn’s last fight against Van Heerden, he looked shaky in the first round when he started taking shots, and you could see the confidence wavering.
