Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn have signed for a blockbuster showdown at London’s O2 Arena on October 8, an encounter that promises to be one of the biggest all-British bouts of the 21st century.
Look at the bare career facts of both men and you might wonder what all the fuss is about. Benn, an undefeated up-and-coming welterweight, will meet a man seven years his senior who has boxed at middleweight and super-middleweight over the course of more than a decade in the sport.
Eubank Jr has lost his two biggest fights to Billy Joe Saunders and George Groves and, as such, has never won a major world title. Benn, although such challenges were thought to lie ahead of him at 147lbs, is in the same boat.
That will remain the case irrespective of the result in London as the fight has been made at a catchweight of 156lbs, between the super-welterweight (154lbs) and middleweight (160lbs) limits.
But it is that combination of names — Benn vs. Eubank — that gives the fight its allure. Three decades ago, their fathers Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn met in fights that captured the imagination of a nation and, to a large extent, defined a generation in British boxing.
Who won Nigel Benn vs. Chris Eubank I?
On the thriving British middleweight scene at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, Eubank, Benn and their contrasting personalities were on an inevitable collision course. Eubank, with his affected persona, jodhpurs, monocle and preening disdain for boxing as a “mug’s game”. Benn, the former Royal Fusilier turned ‘Dark Destroyer’ — a no-nonsense knockout artist who became a fan’s favourite.
A record of 22 consecutive knockouts at the start of his professional career shuddered to a halt when Benn faced Michael Watson in his first major domestic grudge match. Winging in with wild hooks from the opening bell, Benn ran out of steam and was picked apart by the more classically styled Watson. The end came when he was knocked down by a jab in the sixth round, utterly exhausted, and failed to beat the count.
Benn headed out to the United States to rebuild and reeled off five consecutive wins, claiming the then lightly regarded WBO middleweight title against Doug de Witt before stopping Thomas Hearns’ former conqueror Iran Barkley in a round. He returned home in triumph in November 1990 to face the undefeated and outspoken Eubank, by then 24-0 but without a comparable victory on his record.
Accompanied in the ring at Birmingham’s NEC by Richard Steele in November 1990, the man who oversaw the chaotic mayhem and brutality of Hearns’ 1985 bout with Marvin Hagler, the two produced a bout at times worthy of comparison in terms of intensity and violence. Benn forced Eubank to take a count in the eighth round, the challenger protested that he’d slipped, but his left eye was swollen shut. Eubank’s relatively more measured and slicker boxing had reaped rewards, despite him having to fight through a badly cut tongue.
The end came in the closing seconds of round nine after Eubank crashed a right into Benn’s jaw. His legs stiffened and Eubank laid on punishment in the corner. Benn managed to stagger back to centre ring but when he absorbed Eubank’s follow-up assault, Steele decided he had seen enough and jumped in to spare the battered champion.
Who won Chris Eubank vs. Nigel Benn II?
Benn gradually rebuilt from that bruising reverse with six consecutive wins but, as was the case after the Watson loss, salvation came on the road when he travelled to Italy and WBC super-middleweight champion Mauro Galvano retired due to a gashed eyebrow after three rounds.
Eubank also moved up to 168lbs for a rematch with Watson, against whom a contested points verdict against in the final defence of his middleweight title in June 1991. The contest for the vacant WBO super-middleweight crown three months later ended in tragedy, with Eubank dramatically coming from behind to secure a stoppage victory in the final round and Watson suffered severe and life-altering injuries.
A succession of perhaps understandably tepid encounters followed, with Eubank defending the belt he won on that fateful night seven times over the course of two years. It meant Benn once again felt light the fighter with momentum, heading into their blockbuster rematch in front of 40,000 fans at Old Trafford in October 1993.
It was a more tactical affair the second time around, still with sporadic bursts of gripping action. In the sixth round, Benn was docked a point for persistent low blows, a moment that would prove crucial in the final outcome. Judge Harry Gibbs scored it 115-113 to Eubank, Carol Castellano awarded it 114-113 to Benn and Chuck Hassett had it 114-114 even, meaning a split decision draw.
Did Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank fight a third time?
Despite the understandable clamour for a trilogy, a third fight did not materialise. Eubank took a lucrative television deal with Sky Sports, meaning ITV and Benn did not figure in his plans. After several close shaves on the scorecards, he finally lost his WBO crown to Irishman Steve Collins in March 1995. In the rematch six months later, Eubank was on the wrong end of a split decision.
Collins also inflicted a pair of defeats upon Benn the following year, losses that would prove to be the last acts of a superb career. Arguably the finest win on his record came in 1995, although Benn’s fearless and ferocious triumph over the formidable American puncher Gerald McClellan came with similarly horrific consequences to Eubank’s rally against Watson.
Eubank retired after a torch-passing moment in defeat to Joe Calzaghe, who won his old vacant WBO strap, and a pair of gallant attempts to win the WBO cruiserweight title from Carl Thompson came up short.
He and Benn had a third encounter of sorts in a bizarre British TV spectacle where they trained as Roman warriors and duelled in an ancient amphitheatre. Plenty of the old animosity seemed to remain. “Only you can do this to me, you know that, don’t you?” Benn said to Eubank in an aggressive yet somehow affectionate embrace after the pair had previously almost come to blows.
In 2018, with both men in their 50s, The Sun reported that negotiations had been taking place for a third fight, tapping into the modern trend of former favourites getting back into the ring for one last hurrah.
Those came to nought, but now a bout between their two ambitious fighting sons will pen an improbable epilogue. For all that there will be scepticism over why it is necessary to run roughshod over weight classes for the benefit of PPV numbers, the emotions that will be stirred for a certain generation of British fight fans does much to explain the appeal.
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