It might mark the promotional debut of the globally renowned Ring Magazine, funded by the sprawling ambition of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, but Saturday’s middleweight showdown between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn in London is a peculiarly British affair.
A sellout crowd of 60,000 will pack into the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to see the two fighters settle their simmering grudge.
But why?
Eubank (34-3, 25 KOs) is a 35-year-old without a world title to his name (outside interim gold), who has suffered notable defeats whenever he has stepped up in class at both super middleweight and middleweight. His best win came more than six years ago when he punched a shopworn James DeGale into retirement.
WATCH: Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn, live on DAZN
He has at least won a British title, which is more than can be said for career welterweight Benn (23-0, 14 KOs). The “Destroyer” has never demonstrably proved himself to be above British and European level, and a run of eye-catching stoppages over Samuel Vargas, Chris Algeri, and Chris van Heerden was somewhat compromised by the 28-year-old failing two doping tests in 2022.
News of his first positive test broke during fight week of the originally scheduled Eubank fight in October 2022 and forced a postponement. Benn has consistently denied wrongdoing in relation to returning elevated levels of clomiphene and has been licensed by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBB of C) for this fight.
Since their initial date fell by the wayside, Eubank got stopped for the first time in his career against former light middleweight world champion Liam Smith, a defeat he avenged in a rematch. Benn has won two distance fights against unheralded opposition in the United States.
For all their admittedly captivating qualities inside and outside of the ring, a sporting nation is not interested in this fight because of Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn. It is interesting because of the generation-defining exploits of their fathers more than three decades ago.
MORE: Chris Eubank Jr reveals what the deciding factors will be against Conor Benn
Who won Nigel Benn vs. Chris Eubank I?
During the thriving British middleweight scene at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn, and their contrasting personalities were on an inevitable collision course. Eubank, with his affected persona, jodhpurs, monocle, and preening disdain for boxing as a “mug’s game.” Benn, the former Royal Fusilier turned “Dark Destroyer” — a no-nonsense knockout artist who became a fan favourite.
A record of 22 consecutive knockouts at the start of his professional career shuddered to a halt when Benn faced Michael Watson in his first major domestic grudge match. Winging in with wild hooks from the opening bell, Benn ran out of steam and was picked apart by the more classically styled Watson. The end came when he was knocked down by a jab in the sixth round, utterly exhausted, and failed to beat the count.
Benn headed out to the United States to rebuild and reeled off five consecutive wins, claiming the then lightly regarded WBO middleweight title against Doug de Witt before stopping Thomas Hearns’ former conqueror Iran Barkley inside a round. He returned home in triumph in November 1990 to face the undefeated and outspoken Eubank, by then 24-0 but without a comparable victory on his record.
Accompanied in the ring at Birmingham’s NEC by Richard Steele in November 1990, the man who oversaw the chaotic mayhem and brutality of Hearns’ 1985 bout with Marvin Hagler, the two produced a bout at times worthy of comparison in terms of intensity and violence.
Benn forced Eubank to take a count in the eighth round. The challenger protested that he’d slipped, but his left eye was swollen shut. Eubank’s relatively more measured and slicker boxing reaped rewards despite him having to fight through a badly cut tongue.
The end came in the closing seconds of round nine after Eubank crashed a right into Benn’s jaw. His legs stiffened, and Eubank laid on punishment in the corner. Benn managed to stagger back to centre ring, but when he absorbed Eubank’s follow-up assault, Steele decided he had seen enough and jumped in to spare the battered champion.
WATCH: Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn, live on DAZN
Who won Chris Eubank vs. Nigel Benn II?
Benn gradually rebuilt from that bruising reverse with six consecutive wins, but, as was the case after the Watson loss, salvation came on the road when he travelled to Italy, and WBC super middleweight champion Mauro Galvano retired due to a gashed eyebrow after three rounds.
Eubank also moved up to 168lbs for a rematch with Watson, against whom he won a contested points verdict in the final defence of his middleweight title in June 1991. The contest for the vacant WBO super middleweight crown three months later ended in tragedy, with Eubank dramatically coming from behind to secure a stoppage victory in the final round, and Watson suffered severe and life-altering injuries.
A succession of perhaps understandably tepid encounters followed, with Eubank defending the belt he won on that fateful night seven times over the course of two years. It meant Benn once again felt like the fighter with momentum, heading into their blockbuster rematch in front of 40,000 fans at Old Trafford in October 1993.
It was a more tactical affair the second time, with sporadic bursts of gripping action. In the sixth round, Benn was docked a point for persistent low blows, a moment that would prove crucial in the final outcome. Judge Harry Gibbs scored it 115-113 to Eubank, Carol Castellano awarded it 114-113 to Benn, and Chuck Hassett had it 114-114 even, meaning a split decision draw.
Did Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank fight a third time?
Despite the understandable clamour for a trilogy, a third fight did not materialise. Eubank took a lucrative television deal with Sky Sports, meaning ITV and Benn did not figure in his plans. After several close shaves on the scorecards, he finally lost his WBO crown to Irishman Steve Collins in March 1995. In the rematch six months later, Eubank was on the wrong end of a split decision.
Collins also inflicted a pair of defeats upon Benn the following year, losses that would prove to be the last acts of a superb career. Arguably, the finest win on his record came in 1995, although Benn’s fearless and ferocious triumph over the formidable American puncher Gerald McClellan came with similarly horrific consequences to Eubank’s rally against Watson.
Eubank retired after a torch-passing moment in defeat to Joe Calzaghe, who won his old vacant WBO strap, and a pair of gallant attempts to win the WBO cruiserweight title from Carl Thompson came up short.
He and Benn had a third encounter of sorts. It was a bizarre British TV spectacle where they trained as Roman warriors and duelled in an ancient amphitheatre. Plenty of the old animosity seemed to remain. “Only you can do this to me, you know that, don’t you?” Benn said to Eubank in an aggressive yet somehow affectionate embrace after the pair had previously almost come to blows.
In 2018, with both men in their 50s, The Sun reported that negotiations had been taking place for a third fight, tapping into the modern trend of former favourites getting back into the ring for one last hurrah.
Those came to nought, but now, a long-awaited bout between their two ambitious fighting sons will pen an improbable epilogue. Nigel will be in Conor’s corner, while Chris Sr. decried the fight and insists he will have no part in it.
For all that there is due scepticism over why it is necessary to run roughshod over weight classes for the benefit of PPV numbers, not to mention other issues surrounding the bout, the emotions that will be stirred for a certain generation of British fight fans explains the appeal.
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