Chris Eubank Jr. (35-3, 25 KOs) used volume punching to defeat the smaller, less experienced Conor Benn (23-1, 14 KOs) by a 12 round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
The scores were 116-112, 116-112, and 116-112.
Round 1: Not much landing from either fighter. Benn is throwing wild shots, missing badly. Eubank Jr. is looking slow with his reflexes off. Some rabbit punching from Benn in the clinch. That’s his best shot in the round. – 1-0 Benn.
Round 2: Benn landed two big shots in the first half of the round. Eubank Jr. came back to connect on some hard jabs in the last minute that snapped Conor’s head back. 2-0 Benn.
Round 3: Conor staggers Eubank Jr early with a left hook to the head, causing him to hold. Only one significant punch from Benn in the remainder of the round. Eubank Jr looks much slower in terms of hand speed. He can’t land anything other than jabs. He looks like he’s aged. 3-0 Benn.
Round 4: Eubank Jr. comes out aggressive in this round, landing a right uppercut that snaps Benn’s head back. Benn turns him around and hits him on the back twice with illegal punches. The remainder of the round is uneventful. 3-1 Benn.
Round 5: Chris Jr. starts where he left off in the previous round, pressing the attack, jabbing Benn, and taking control of the fight. Twice, Eubank Jr. bumps into the smaller fighter, knocking him backwards. 3-2 Benn.
Round 6: Benn roughing up Eubank Jr, bending him over the ropes. Eubank Jr. mostly jabs in the round and gets the better of the action. Late in the round, the referee warns Eubank Jr for a rabbit punch. 3-3 even.
Round 7: A big right hand followed by a left by Eubank Jr. that snaps Benn’s head back in the early part of the round. Benn is starting to look uncomfortable with the poise of Eubank Jr. 4-3 Eubank Jr.
Round 8: Eubank Jr. no longer afraid to mix it up, attacking Benn, landing shots on the inside, tiring him out. Benn has no power in close. 5-3 Eubank Jr.
Round 9: Chris Jr. cut over his right eye from a clash of heads. Eubank Jr. is getting the better of the action in close again. 6-3 Eubank Jr.
Round 10: Benn lands some big shots early, but Eubank Jr. comes flying back in the last minute, burying him with volume. He traps Benn against the ropes as the round ends. 7-3 Eubank Jr.
Round 11: A lot of two-way action, but Eubank Jr. is getting the better of Benn with volume. He traps Benn against the ropes, nailing him at will. Benn looks in trouble. 8-3 Eubank Jr.
Round 12: Eubank Jr hurts Benn, hitting him at will throughout the round. Benn took a ton of punishment in the round and somehow made it through without going down. 9-3 Eubank Jr.
Live Results
– Light heavyweight contender Anthony Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) defeated Lyndon Arthur (24-3, 16 KOs) by a 12-round unanimous decision in their trilogy match. The heavily muscled Yarde stayed on top of Arthur the entire fight, throwing arm punches and getting the better of him with volume. The scores were 115-113, 116-112, and 116-112. It was an anticlimactic victory because Yarde had already beaten Arthur in their second fight in 2021. Tonight’s trilogy was just a business-level one. Hopefully, this is the last time these two fight because it’s time they start fighting other opposition.
– Aaron McKenna (20-0, 10 KOs) easily beat former WBO 154-lb champion Liam Smith (33-5-1, 20 KOs), winning a wide 12-round unanimous decision to capture the WBA International middleweight title. McKenna, 25, dropped the old warrior Smith with a left to the body in the twelfth round. Smith, 36, got back up and gamely fought back to survive the round.
The scores were 119-108, 117-109, and 118-108. It was a totally one-sided fight with McKenna hitting the older and slower Liam seemingly at will in every round. The contest arguably should have been stopped by the sixth round because Smith was not effective at all. He’s just a shadow of the fighter he was a decade ago when he knocked out John Thompson in the seventh round to capture the WBO 154-lb title in 2015.
The matchmaking done on McKenna’s behalf was good, but it didn’t reveal anything. McKenna didn’t look good enough to compete with IBF and WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly or WBC champ Carlos Adames. McKenna is a good boxer, but lacks power and would be easy prey for those champions. He’ll be fine as long as he stays fighting at the level he’s at now, but if he steps up, he’s going to get found out.
– Viddal Riley (13-0, 7 KOs) outboxed British cruiserweight champion Cheavon Clarke (10-2, 7 KOs), winning a 12-round unanimous decision. The scores were 116-112, 117-111, and 115-113.
– Former WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billiam-Smith (21-2, 13 KOs) got back to his winning ways with a grueling 12-round unanimous decision over Brandon Glanton (20-3, 13 KOs). Glanton had success early on, forcing Billiam-Smith back, landing hard power shots on the inside, and not allowing him space to land his big punches.
Billiam-Smith looked exhausted by the third round from the fast pace and constant mauling by the more physically stronger Glanton. In the sixth, Chris staggered the American with a hard right hand. Glanton’s pace slowed down dramatically after that round, allowing Billiam-Smith to get the better of the action in rounds 7 through 12. However, the constant mauling and pushing his head into the face of Billiam-Smith, bothered him.
Despite getting the better of the action, he wasn’t comfortable with Glanton’s tactics. The scores were 116-113, 116-112, and 116-112.