IN THE NAME OF THE FATHERS
was brash, he was flash, and he carried an air of arrogance, playing the heel inside and outside the ropes. Eubank was content to be the rogue. He had referred to boxing as “a mug’s game.” They were sons of the first mass wave of immigrants from the Caribbean. Benn, the Dark Destroyer, was of Bajan heritage, Eubank of Jamaican lineage. The clash of chemistry went from the boots to their heads. Fascinatingly, there are similar traits that characterize the sons, both as fighters and personalities. Eubank Jr., a middleweight and super middleweight campaigner, has always espoused a less-is-more approach – at 35 years old, he has 37 fights on his record, with three defeats. The very big fights – notably those teased with Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin – have been close but never got over the line. His defeats have come to Liam Smith (stoppage, which he avenged in a rematch), George Groves (unanimous decision), and Billy Joe Saunders (split decision). He has been within touching distance of a world title, yet it has never been in his grasp. Eubank is a clever salesman, a smart thinker, and knows his worth. This is a very, very big fight for him against Benn. Obviously, as the naturally bigger man, there is more at stake for him in terms of legacy and reputation. Not to mention family pride, which we will return to shortly. In spite of his age – and despite the fact that he was stopped for the first time in his career by Smith, dramatically and emphatically in the fourth round in Manchester two years ago – Eubank starts as the favorite. With the bout set at middleweight, the rehydration clause allows him an upper limit of 170 pounds the day after the weigh-in, which could – just could – affect him if it is a long and grueling contest with Benn. Eubank, The Ring’s No. 5-rated middleweight, was ranked No. 3 with the IBF and No. 2 by the WBC at 160
pounds as this piece was penned; Benn, meanwhile, in spite of his inactivity, sits at No. 2 with the WBA, No. 3 with the WBC and No. 4 with the IBF in the welterweight division. Benn, 28 years old, will likely be challenging for 147-pound world titles in the next 12 months. But first the family feud, a huge sporting event in the U.K., in a magnificent stadium that has already seen world title fights involving Tyson Fury vs. Derek Chisora and Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk. The stadium was alive on these great occasions.
arguing over parity and who held the cards as the A-side. Eubank insisted it was him; Benn said that he just wanted the fight; their respective promoters, Ben Shalom and Eddie Hearn, laid out their reasons for their men. It looked like the fight was going nowhere when Turki Alalshikh stepped in, set up the deal and made it a Ring Magazine event, the first of what he promises will be many. Parallels can easily be drawn with the Benn and Eubank of today and the two warriors from many years ago. Speaking in the first week of February, Conor Benn, with both passion and emotion, told The Ring: “Look, this is the greatest British rivalry. It’s something that hasn’t been done before. Two world champions’ sons in the greatest of British rivalries. As well as making history, and the magnitude of it, this is the fight that is capturing the imagination of the public.” He added: “It’s all well and good winning a world title, and it’s every fighter’s dream to do so, but you can’t turn down fights of this magnitude. For me, it’s a great draw for me, and I love the challenge of jumping up two weight divisions to show how good I am. I’m loving the anticipation of it, and to sell out Tottenham Stadium is something you can tick off in your career. These opportunities don’t come around often, and I want to give my entire body and soul to it.” I discussed with Benn how it has morphed into an even bigger fight, event and rivalry over the last 30 months. “Listen, I’ve been extremely inactive, but I’ve stayed in the gym,” he said. “I’ve stayed extremely disciplined and used the time wisely. Come April 26, you will see a better version of myself, a more filled-out version of myself, and the time away has given me a different mindset and resilience.” Historically, moreover, the Benn family has been on the cover once, in 1991, under the headline “Boxing’s Baddest Bad Boy: Nigel Benn plays by his own rules.”
The Benn-Eubank legacy fight has had two and a half years to marinate since it was first made official in August 2022, and with the clash postponed from October 2022 due to Benn testing positive for a performance-enhancer called clomifene, the clearing of his name and lifting of a suspension on his license in the U.K. saw the resonance of this fight increase exponentially. It has a narrative that has continued to grow. A deus ex machina in the form of the most influential figure in modern boxing also entered the scene as the two fighters wrangled over the purse split,
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