Former world super middleweight champion George Groves has described a proposed fight between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr as a “mismatch”.
The speculated all-British mega-fight has dominated the UK boxing news in recent weeks with the two seemingly close to a deal which would see the fight take place at a catch-weight.
Benn currently campaigns in the welterweight division (147lbs) while Eubank Jr fights 13lbs higher at middleweight.
An official announcement could come this week for their meeting rumoured for October at the O2 Arena, London live on DAZN pay-per-view.
Groves, now retired, fought and beat Eubank Jr in 2018 in a defence of his WBA title and shared his thoughts with Boxing Social:
“I think it’s a mismatch to be honest.”
Groves continued about a potential weight cut for Eubank Jr:
“Eubank Jr is just too big, he’s competed at super middleweight, fought me, down at middleweight now and he looks pretty tight at middleweight.
“I can’t see how he’s gonna get much lighter. He might do it for the Benn fight because he thinks this guy’s too small and there’s a lot of money at stake, a lot of profile, it might open a lot of doors for him.”
The names of Benn and Eubank provoke nostalgia in boxing fans of a certain age. In the early nineties they were fierce rivals with little to no time for one another.
In 1990 Eubank stopped Benn to win the WBO middleweight title and three years later, at super middleweight, the pair fought to a draw in a huge event at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium.
Benn and Eubank were well matched back then but the former never got the better of his nemesis.
In 2022 a third opportunity to get one back on the other side might be too good to turn down but Groves says Conor should stay away.
“For me it’s not the right move for Conor Benn. I mean he might prove me wrong, and you know if you’ve got something wrong then [I’m] happy to admit that.”
“I think he’s doing really well at the moment. He’s boxing well, he’s still learning his craft, he hasn’t been in that many huge fights.”
“Why go into this fight and give away all the natural advantages – giving away experience, size, it’s not the wisest move.”
And with all that being said a fight prediction from Groves was only going to favour one man. However, the 34-year-old also spoke of his concern about the possible implications for Eubank Jr dropping down from 160lbs.
“I think Eubank beats him. I think he beats him on size.”
“You never know if there is a weight cut, that’s tough for Junior.”
“There’s rehydration stipulations that he has to adhere to but then you’re worried about it being dangerous.”
“I don’t want to see a fighter fighting severely dehydrated – that’s how you end up with a brain injury.”
“But prediction on the fight – I don’t think Eubank would fight if that was the case and I think he beats him I think he’s too big.”