Chris Eubank Jr sits down for a long talk about this Saturday’s fight against Conor Benn. During the conversation Eubank shares his thoughts on why he took this fight, it’s historical significance, and how at the same time he’s in a lose-lose situation in this fight.
On Saturday’s fight with Benn
“I always knew there was a chance that we would end up fighting each other; there’s too much nostalgia, there’s too much history, there’s too much excitement and fantasy about it for it not to happen at some point. Now, did I expect it to happen this quickly? No. After I beat Liam Williams, Conor Benn was not on my radar.
“But he’s been doing his thing, he’s on a hot streak, he’s been knocking guys out. He’s getting bigger and stronger and he’s put himself into a position to where the fight makes sense at this time financially, promotionally, physically, the fight can be made.
“He wants it, he says he’s gonna beat me, he says he’s gonna be the first man to stop me. It’s incredible to hear. My job now is to show him what boxing really is. He’s never been in a fight like this before, he’s never been in a super fight. I have. I know the world stage, I know the big fights, I know what it’s like to walk out in front of 20,000 — that’s my comfort zone. This is all new to him, so it’s going to be very interesting to see how he handles it.”
On taking this fight instead of some other big name fights between 160-168
“Canelo and GGG, those are the marquee names. But in terms of British boxing there’s no fight bigger than this. Before the fight was even announced we were both on the front pages of magazines just because of the whipers. That’s how excited people got.
“I know what this fight is to a lot of people. People are emotionally invested in the Eubank-Benn dynasties, the history, the blood that’s been spilled. It’s British heritage, it’s folklore, it’s legend...for those two legends to have sons and fight 30 years later — it’s unheard of. It’s never happened before in the history of boxing and it will never happen again.
“He has nothing to lose. If he wins, he’s a superstar. If he wins, he’s his own name and he’s out of his father’s shadow for the rest of his life. He’s making the most money he’s ever made. If he loses, ‘oh well, it was too early, the weight jump was a bit too much.’
“It’s win-win for him. It’s lose-lose for me. If I lose, I’m finished. I can’t lose to Conor Benn and then say give me a title shot at middleweight, can’t do it. If I win, as far as I’m aware, I’m not gonna get any credit. ‘Ah, well you were supposed to beat him anyway.’
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