With just over 7 weeks to go until their catchweight clash, Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr are in training – and the clips have started to drop. Benn appears to be, as he’s fond of saying, crushing it in the gym…
In what’s become one of the most intriguing events in the fight calendar, October 8 will see the sons of two British legends, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr, face off to continue the family rivalry.
Benn doesn’t take much into the fight over his opponent. At 25 he’s the fresher fighter, but the experience, reach, and number of knockouts are all in Eubank’s favour. Chris is the heavier man too, but who the weight will benefit remains one of the biggest question marks.
After a long negotiation period in which the fight was both teased and downplayed, the two teams settled on a catchweight of 157lbs. This is 10lbs over Benn’s usual weight limit and 3lbs under Eubank’s – although the latter has campaigned as high as 167lbs. Whether he’ll be able to cut down healthily and keep all of his attributes is what fans will be keeping a close eye on.
Benn, as per the clip posted on the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel, looks to be trying to have the speed advantage when he enters the ring.
Of course, we’ve seen these fast hand combo videos from gyms before – and it goes without saying that it rarely looks anything like the real deal with gloves on and a game opponent in front of you.
Still, Nigel Benn seems to approve. He looks on intensely – confirming fan’s hopes that he has a stake in the fight and will be by his son’s side. He walked away from his two fights with Eubank Sr carrying with him a loss and a draw, no victory. His son, for what it’s worth, has vowed to correct that.
The O2 Arena in London will host the fight, and it will be available to watch exclusively on DAZN worldwide and DAZN Pay-Per-View in the UK and Ireland.