Conor Benn has invested the last three years of his life into Chris Eubank Jr.
A rivalry steeped in family history has been doused in fresh controversy at every turn with each man unable truly to escape the other since their paths first crossed in 2022.
After their proposed bout first fell through three years ago in the drug test scandal that rocked British boxing, Eubank Jr was able to move on, albeit temporarily. His dust-ups with another domestic rival in Liam Smith, a shock knockout defeat followed by a stoppage win of his own six months later, was a welcomed change of direction but all roads inevitably led back to Benn.
For Benn, there has been no one else. Boxing loves a family feud and in Benn vs Eubank, the country had one at its intense best in the early 90s as Nigel and Chris Snr shared one of the most engrossing chapters of British sport.
Conor and Chris Jr have kept it burning with the animosity between the two as genuine as anything their dads shared all those years ago. But it has been a long, testing journey with these two.
Eubank Jr won the first bout in April comprehensively, leaving little doubt who was the better man on the night. But a rematch was inevitable, just as a trilogy will be if Benn levels things up on Saturday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
As compelling as their first scrap was, the rematch didn’t feel necessary and does little for either man’s world title prospects.
‘It is a fight that is not logical for any one of their careers, apart from making loads of money of course,’ former super-middleweight world champion George Groves told Metro.
‘It doesn’t push either man towards being a better fighter. Having a large profile does speed up your chances of getting a world title fight, but the time Benn has spent on Eubank Jr is years wasted in terms of him developing as a fighter to become world champion.’
Eubank Jr has already had his chances to claim a major world title, falling short against Groves in 2018. While he has held the IBO title, it is a belt often derided and left out of any conversation regarding major world honours.
Carl Froch, who fought Groves twice in a rivalry that took over British boxing in 2013 and 2014, goes one further than his old rival, labelling Eubank vs Benn II a ‘charade’ – albeit an entertaining one.
‘We have seen Eubank Jr in at world level fights and he got beaten by someone I rendered unconscious,’ Froch reminded us. ‘You have to remember the levels. Eubank Jr is a British-European level fighter.
‘I’m not hating on him or the fight, fair play to them, they are prize fighters and I want boxers to earn money. But there will be a lot better fighters out there making a fraction of the money looking at this going, “F*****g hell”.
‘Both their dads have done all the work, Eubank Snr and Nigel Benn did everything to set up this charade. And that’s exactly what it is. But it makes for a great fight so I want to see the charade. Let’s enjoy it.’
The first fight rode on emotion, from Eubank Jr slapping an egg across Benn’s face in a raucous press conference to Eubank Snr’s stunning return to his son’s side on fight night in a play straight out of the WWE playbook.
Revenge is the overriding factor for Benn and anything other than a victory will be hugely damaging for a career that still holds huge promise. The same mistakes cannot be made again.
‘I think this time Conor gets it right,’ Groves said. ‘He is not going to have as much nervous energy he has in the first fight. There were technical things he did wrong in the first fight, he wasted too much energy with his power shots and when they got together.
‘It is not the same fight, the emotion has gone.’
With Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury still evading each other, Eubank Jr vs Benn has been the British rivalry at the heart of boxing. For better of for worse, their careers will remain intrinsically linked whatever happens next.
Carl Froch and George Groves spoke to Metro courtesy of https://www.sportscasting.com/uk/.