Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn: Fighting for their families

If you’re looking for a way to define the term “unfinished business”, this is it. Chris Eubank v Nigel Benn was one of the biggest boxing stories of the 1990s, but it was never conclusively resolved. Eubank won their first fight in 1990, and then the 1993 rematch ended in a draw – and the two never met in the ring again. If an episode of EastEnders had an ending that unsatisfying, we’d be writing a sternly worded email.

But! The Eubank-Benn rivalry has been resurrected for the 2020s, and it’s approaching boiling point once again. There’s a chance it can be decided once and for all when the former boxers’ sons, Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn, meet at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – a fight you can see live on Saturday 26 April on Sky Sports Box Office with Virgin Media.

To say it’s been a long time coming would obviously be an understatement – not least because this was a fight that was originally scheduled to happen in 2022. So let’s get straight into the nitty-gritty of this generational rivalry…

Both fighters have made it clear that it matters a great deal to them. “This fight is for the legacy and was an opportunity I felt I couldn’t pass up,” is how Benn put it when the fight was confirmed. “My team and I had other options on the table and no doubt I’m looking for a world championship fight very soon, but this fight is embedded with so much history and I know it’s one the public really want to see.”

“I grew up watching legendary battles and always wanting to emulate that, and find my own arch-nemesis… Could this now be Conor Benn? We will find out,” said Eubank Jr. “He has walked the same path as I have. I know his struggle. Living in the shadow of a legend and trying to break out of that shadow and make his own name. If he can beat me, his name will be made, and he will never walk in his father’s shadow again.”

Er, well. They might have at some point, but that all went south ahead of their original fight date when Benn tested positive for the banned substance clomifene and the bout was called off. Eventually he was cleared of any rule violation, and there was a suggestion that the positive test was a result of eating too many eggs in his training camp.

Eubank Jr was left seething, though, and at their press conference ahead of the rescheduled fight, produced an egg and slapped his opponent’s face with it. He later posted on Instagram: “Apparently egg contamination was the reason for his two failed drugs tests. So, I contaminated him with an egg.”

As if that didn’t ramp up the animosity enough, the two were invited on the online talk show hosted by master provocateur Piers Morgan. Although Morgan didn’t have to do much provoking. Eubank Jr once again brought up the drugs test, and suggested that it meant Benn’s father might have been cheating throughout his career. The two almost came to blows – and this was following another altercation in the aftermath of Eubank Jr’s victory over Kamil Szeremeta in October. The hostility is real.

Although the 2022 fight was to take place at a catchweight of 157lb (71.2kg), this will take place at Eubank Jr’s preferred middleweight, which seems to hand him the advantage. Benn will be stepping up two whole divisions from his usual welterweight. Two-weight champion Roy Jones Jr says: “It’s a very tough fight for Conor. I’m not going to say he can’t win it, but it’s going to be a rough one. Chris is a much improved fighter. He's going to be really hard to beat for any guy, especially one that is smaller than him.”

Liam Smith, the only fighter ever to stop Eubank Jr, concurs. “I’ll probably head towards Eubank on points. Just size-wise – Conor is small. I think Chris might rob a points win, he’ll jab, he’ll be cagey. That’s his style now, and I don’t think he’ll give Conor a chance.”

Benn is undefeated, however, and is renowned for his punching power. He’s seen Smith knock Eubank Jr down and if he can get a couple of big hits in early, he’ll have a great chance. 

Whatever the outcome, Eubank Jr says the “next logical fight” for him would be against Mexican superstar Canelo Álvarez, one that promoter Turki Alalshikh has promised is possible. For Benn, a first ever defeat would smart, but the middleweight would be valuable experience as he returned to the welterweight division. If he can pull off a victory, though, the possibilities are virtually unlimited – not least because of the publicity surrounding this rivalry.

It’s a great bill for fans of British boxing. Liam Smith – who stopped Eubank Jr in January 2023, but lost when they met again eight months later – is back in the ring to face the undefeated Aaron McKenna. Light heavyweights Lyndon Arthur and Anthony Yarde meet for the third time, having won one fight each.

Former world cruiserweight champ Chris Billam-Smith will look to bounce back from his loss to Gilberto Ramírez with a bout against US fighter Brandon Glanton. At the same weight, English champ Viddal Riley faces off with British title holder Cheavon Clarke.

You can see this heavyweight fight on Sky Sports Box Office with Virgin Media from 5pm on Saturday 26 April. It’s available to order from 10am on Tuesday 22 April and costs £19.95 (HD only). The event is repeated at 8am and 5pm on Sunday 27 April (last playout).

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