Conor Benn v Chris Eubank Jr

[Master]

CHRIS EUBANK, who had starved himself of food and liquid for three agonising days, stared longingly at three large jugs filled to the brim with pineapple juice.

He had them put on a table close to the scales as he waited impatiently to weigh in for his WBC super-middleweight title defence against American Dan Schommer.

After making the 12-stone limit, Eubank raced to the jugs with the speed of a desperate man who had been lost in a desert suddenly coming across a life-saving oasis.

That scenario was played out in Sun City, South Africa, 28 years ago and I’ve never forgotten the sight of Chris, his body dangerously bone-dry through dehydration, gulping down all three jugs without stopping to take a breath.

As a result of putting himself through such a severe weight-reducing process, his performance was well below par and he struggled to outpoint the mundane Schommer.

It was no surprise to me when Eubank last week expressed grave fears at the risk his super-middleweight son Chris Jr was taking by agreeing to get down to 157lbs for his catchweight clash with welterweight Conor Benn at London’s O2 Arena on October 8.

The Brighton braggart knows only too well from bitter experience how making weight can leave a fighter weak, even hours after rehydrating.

He claims making his boy get down to 157lbs is suicidal and says he will try to get Chris Jr to pull out, saying: “This fight should not be allowed to happen - it is too dangerous.”

Chris Jr dismissed his father’s concerns about his safety though he did admit having to scale down to 11st 3lbs means he will only be 60 per cent of his best when he faces unbeaten Benn.

To ensure Chris Jr is taking weight off gradually and sensibly, the British Boxing Board of Control have been monitoring him and will continue to do so for the next two weeks.

In fact, Eubank Sr should be even more concerned about Conor, who is up against a much bigger man with vastly more experience.

Because there is such a marked difference between the size of the two men, precautions are being taken in an attempt to try to make it a more even playing field.

Chris Jr is contracted to have a second weigh-in at 11 o' clock on the morning of the fight and he won’t be allowed to put on more than 10lbs overnight.

But in the 11 hours before he steps in the ring it is possible he could eat two meals and he will certainly have drunk plenty of water.

Just one litre of water is equivalent to 2.2lbs and I would very surprised if Eubank isn’t well over a stone heavier than Conor by the time the first bell sounds.

That’s an enormous advantage over such a much smaller opponent.

In this column in July I wrote there must be reservations about the validity of Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank’s kids fighting each other and suggested it smacks of a money-making gimmick.

There has never been a more acrimonious rivalry in British boxing history generated by the two battles between their fathers in the 90s – and as expected their heirs’ hostilities have certainly caught the fans’ imagination.

But boxing is dangerous enough already without putting extra perilous obstacles in a fighter’s way.

eddy Atlas, who was teenager Mike Tyson’s first trainer and one of America’s most respected, once said “Catch-weights are essentially breaking the rules to benefit someone else - a blight on the sport.”

I couldn’t agree more.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/19887...ight-starving/

[Master]

Chris Eubank Jr has explained why he’ll walk away from professional boxing if he loses to Conor Benn.

Next Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London, Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn will put an end to a feud between families that’s been ongoing for decades now.

The pair had teased the idea of a match-up many times in the past but it finally looks set to happen in front of a sold-out crowd in the English capital.

It’ll take place at a catchweight of 157 pounds with Benn moving up two weight classes, whereas Eubank Jr will be dropping to 157 for the first time in his career.

There’s a whole lot on the line here for both men with the biggest prize of all, of course, being the bragging rights that will come with finally putting an end to this rivalry once and for all.

Eubank Jr serves as the senior veteran out of the two with a record of 32-2, giving him a lot more time in the ring than Benn as he moved to 21-0 earlier this year.

He’s also seven years older which is a point that’s divided many fans between those who think the experience will favour him and those who believe it could hinder his speed in comparison to the lighter Benn.

During a recent media appearance that the two shared on Good Morning Britain, Eubank Jr revealed that he will be retiring from boxing if he can’t get the job done before going on to explain why.

“I’ve said it before and this is the first time I’ve said it throughout my career – if I lose this fight, I retire, and I love fighting. I love the sport, I love being a boxer, I don’t want it to end.”

Eubank Jr was then asked directly why he’d walk away if he couldn’t get the job done.

“Because losing to a Conor Benn at this stage of my career, it means I’m not the fighter that I thought I was, or that I think I am. I wanna challenge for world titles within the next six to twelve months. I can’t do that with a loss to Conor Benn.

“My father retired at 32, I’m 33 years old. So, this is an extremely important fight and there’s a lot of pressure on me not only to win, but to uphold the name and the family legacy.”

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxi...87dd354a50f657

[Dark Lord Al]

Benn isn't world class in his own division. This is a circus fight at best.

[Master]

Roy Jones Jr thinks Eubank Jr will win "with no problem" but he has warned the Brit that he will need to "be careful":

"I think Eubank wins the fight with no problem, but there are a few things he [will] have to do to make sure he keeps being in check," Jones told FightHype.com. "Eubank is probably more experienced, the bigger and the better fighter, so all my thoughts would be towards Eubank. "But there are some things that Conor could do to cause problems, and I've already warned Chris of those things, so I think he'll be fine." When asked to elaborate, Jones added: "Keep the head down, be careful, watch for the big left hook - things like that."

Jones Jr has been Eubank Jr's trainer for recent fights but they have not worked together to prepare for the clash against Benn. Eubank Jr instead appears to have either gone solo, or has brought his father back into the fold. The 53-year-old understands this decision and he is not bitter about not being called up: "If it was me and he asked me what he should do, I would've told him to do just that," Jones continued. "Your fathers are the reason the fight is happening and having the fathers there in the corners is going to make it even bigger for everybody. "So if I was a fan, I would definitely want to see Nigel in Conor's corner and see Eubank Sr. in Chris' corner."

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxi...d8d955da342011

[Dark Lord Al]

Benn has been floored by WW journeymen; he isn't a world class puncher at WW.
Eubank has a steel chin and is so much bigger, this fight looks like a mismatch to me.
2 lower than world class fighters cashing in on daddy's reputations. PPV ? don't make me laugh.

[Master]

The trainer who oversaw the finest performance of Chris Eubank Jnr’s career believes his former fighter would beat Conor Benn even without someone working his corner.

He has, however, warned Eubank Jr his unorthodox approach will eventually lead to him again suffering defeat.

The Las Vegas-based Nate Vasquez prepared Eubank Jr for what remains his biggest win, over James DeGale in February 2019, and the victory over Matvey Korobov later that year in December before seeing him appoint Roy Jones Jr as his new trainer.

Since then Eubank Jr has been less convincing, but for all of his apparent commitment to Jones Jr, he is hoping his corner on Saturday against Benn will comprise of Ronnie Davies and his father, Chris Sr.

Vasquez is confident that as the middleweight – one who has previously won at super middleweight – fighting at 157lbs against a natural welterweight, Eubank Jr will ease to victory over Benn at London’s O2 Arena, but he regardless believes that the direction in which the 33-year-old is moving is undermining his career.

An amateurish setup against both Billy Joe Saunders and George Groves in 2014 and 2018 contributed to Eubank Jr’s two previous defeats, and Vasquez told talkSPORT: “Chris beats [Benn] with no corner. It’s going to be like Triple G [Gennady Golovkin beating]-Kell Brook [in 2016].

“Benn will do good for the first couple of rounds, because Chris don’t warm up until, like the fourth round. When I trained him I wanted him to come out quick, ‘cause I don’t wanna play catch up in rounds.

“Chris is going to warm up and keep getting stronger and stronger. I don’t see Benn hurting Chris.

“[But] it’ll take another loss for him to realise, ‘Maybe I should have had Roy Jones or someone else in the corner’. All the fights I watched with his father in the corner, his father didn’t tell him anything. Sometimes he just stood in the corner and just turned his back on him.

“You’ve seen what his dad does in the corner. His dad’s about one thing, and that’s himself. His dad is trying to steal the show from everyone else. He’s flamboyant. That’s how Snr is. He wants the spotlight. I don’t think it’s a good idea for his father to be in the corner.

“[Chris Jr] could be real good. His problem is he don’t wanna listen. He wants to do his own thing, and that’s fine, but it ain’t gonna get him nowhere.”

Vasquez, who first met Eubank Jr at the Mayweather Boxing Club – he learned at the hands of the respected Roger and Jeff Mayweather in Vegas, and Dan Birmingham and Winky Wright in Florida – also believes Jones has been guiding him incorrectly.

“DeGale was probably his best win and he looked the best in that,” he explained. “He looks horrible, with Roy, trying to fight like Roy. It’s not entertaining.

“People that watch him fight want to see him in there, [a] knockout; mixing it up; throwing combos. [But] he’s bouncing around like Roy.

“Chris’ [natural] style is to press forward. He’s not a boxer. He ain’t never going to be a boxer. If he turns into a boxer he’s gonna end up getting beat by a boxer or it’s going to be a boring fight no one’s going to want to watch.

“I was trying to get him to use his jab a lot more and his combos, which he did in the DeGale fight. He was in there brawling, but I wanted to work on his defence and his jab a lot – they were key.

“For the time we worked together, he did great. He listened, and he went with the game plan. Everything fell in place for that fight.

“He’s a great athlete. He’s strong. He’s quick when he wants to be quick; he just sometimes gets back into his bad habits, because he’s never really had someone to tell him, ‘Stop doing it’. His footwork is one of them – he [sometimes] crosses his feet instead of moving his front foot first. He wouldn’t use his jab at all – he was just throwing and mauling with no defence at all, [and his] chin up in the air.

“There’s a lot better trainers than Roy. I don’t think Roy’s a trainer; you don’t show people how to fight like you. There’s one Roy Jones Jr. There’ll never be another.

“I don’t think he’s looked good at all [since working under him]. He’s got the wins, but he ain’t really fought nobody.”

Eubank Jr’s most recent victory, in February over Liam Williams at middleweight, is widely regarded as another of his best. Saturday’s fight instead demands that he weighs in at 157lbs, a potential cause for concern after more than 10 years as a professional fighting above that, but Vasquez said: “He had no problem making 160lbs for [the Korobov fight, after beating DeGale at 168lbs]. We weren’t in England but he didn’t even have a nutritionist and he made 160lbs pretty easy.

“When he made 160lbs he was sipping on water all night that night, and had something to eat before he went to bed. So, he’s dedicated to the sport. He has a [strong] mentality. He wasn’t eating junk food or anything like that.

“The first time I worked with him I thought he looked like s***. His footwork was horrible; he had no jab; he was lunging in; he was winging shots. ‘Holy s***, this guy needs a lot of work.’

“But he has what a lot of fighters don’t have, and that’s the heart; the determination. Some fighters just ain’t got that will, or the fight in ‘em. Chris has it in him. He’s not going to go in there and quit and lay down.”

https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/1...-nate-vasquez/

[Memphis]

A good few years back when GGG was at his brutal best, I was touting Eubank Jnr as the man to topple him. Bomb proof chin. Great engine and output. I genuinely thought he had the tools to get the job done. Fast forward to present day and he's no closer to fighting him than he was back then. He'll drop his name of course. But Eubank's career has been at a mediocre stand still for years and despite what he says, his actions scream I'm not interested in fighting the biggest and best. He's found his niche in life and beating up average or undersized men is it.

He'll flog the legacy narrative of course. Family name and any other trite bullshit he can think of to roll this turd in glitter. It was a joke that he actively pursued the Brook fight, it's a joke that he's taking this fight.

[Mark TKO]

The closer this gets the more ridiculous this match up seems. Benn could suffer a serious crushing loss here he may never recover from.

[Master]

A good few years back when GGG was at his brutal best, I was touting Eubank Jnr as the man to topple him. Bomb proof chin. Great engine and output. I genuinely thought he had the tools to get the job done. Fast forward to present day and he's no closer to fighting him than he was back then. He'll drop his name of course. But Eubank's career has been at a mediocre stand still for years and despite what he says, his actions scream I'm not interested in fighting the biggest and best. He's found his niche in life and beating up average or undersized men is it.

He'll flog the legacy narrative of course. Family name and any other trite bullshit he can think of to roll this turd in glitter. It was a joke that he actively pursued the Brook fight, it's a joke that he's taking this fight.

The irony is that Brook may face the winner. More rubbish after this novelty fight.