Conor Benn says if he spots weakness in Chris Eubank Jr on October 8th, he’s going to look to knock him out in their main event catchweight fight at 157 lbs at the O2 Arena in London.
Eubank Jr insists that he’s shooting for just 60% form for his fight with Benn. He feels that all he needs is 60% to defeat Benn, and he could be right.
Eubank Jr has a nasty left hook that he uses as his primary weapon, and if he can land that punch with any consistency on October 8, Benn is going to hit the canvas repeatedly on the night.
Benn (21-0, 14 KOs) and Eubank Jr (32-2, 23 KOs) will be battling on DAZN pay-per-view. For a lot of boxing fans, they see Eubank Jr as the favorite in this one.
The 25-year-old Benn is an unknown commodity due to his weak resume. He’s a diamond in the rough and has been matched carefully by his promoter Eddie Hearn, who hasn’t been willing to risk putting him in with someone that could overturn the applecart.
With the money that Benn has been pulling in for easy fights against the likes of Chris Algieri, Adrian Granados, Samuel Vargas, Sebastian Formella, and Chris Van Heerden, it’s no wonder that Hearn hasn’t been willing to match him against an upper-tier contender at 147.
“This is for so many people this fight. It’s such a fascinating fight,” said Conor Benn to Matchroom Boxing talking about his October 8th clash against Chris Eubank Jr.
“Is it bigger, I can’t say because there are still world titles to go. The guy deviated my plans slightly. When an opportunity comes up like this to make history, you can’t really pass up on it.
“I’m a product of my team. I make decisions as a team, we train as a team. We’re on daily communications every single day. I have a united front,” said Benn.
“I used to think is ‘Tony going to be right for Conor?’ I can’t see them ever parting,” said Nigel Benn. “Conor excelled under Tony. It’s freaking mindblowing.”
“If I see the opportunity, I’m going to take it,” said Conor about him potentially going for a knockout if he sees Chris Eubank Jr is hurt. “I’m going to go in and try and iron him out like I do everyone else.
“If I see an opportunity, if I see a glimmer in the eye, I will take it,” said Benn.
“I just feel the later the fight goes, the more it goes in Conor’s favor because he’s like his dad to try and get the early rounds and then try and coast through,” said Nigel. “He won’t be able to coast through with Conor.
“If he comes in at 60%, he’s going to be in for a world of hurt. I’m telling you. He has to be 100% to get in the ring with my son,” said Nigel.
“How can somebody be out eating burgers and doing all this and doing that or posting about it? Maybe he’s not,” said Conor about Eubank Jr. “Then in the same breath, his dad, ‘I’m worried about my son’s health for the threat pounds.’
“It’s like, ‘That’s a Team Eubank issue.’ All I know is we’re here, and we’re united. We’re all on the same page. I’m not concerned in the slightest. His whole career has been an embarrassment.
“His dad is standing there in the corner just staring at his son. This whole situation has been embarrassing,” said Conor.
“He got lucky with the World Boxing Super Series because actually, they made that many bad decisions,” said Eddie Hearn about Eubank Jr. “He was set to spunk it all and not make the money that he should have done.
“He got lucky that this tournament came up from nowhere, and he made a load of money. Then ITV gave him a load of money to fight James DeGale. But he’s always been a draw, and people will always want to watch him.
“When we were doing the Golovkin fight, it was the most frustrating thing I’ve been involved in, and it was just bizarre,” said Hearn about Eubank Jr.
“My dad, for me, is a reminder of who I am and the blood I have running through my veins,” said Conor Benn. “If you look at the way I do fight with ferociousness and tenacity and intensity and spitefulness. It comes from inside of me.
“Having my dad there reminds me that I’m a gladiator,” said Benn.
“He’s very proud of me, so he’s going to say that,” said Conor about his dad Nigel Benn. “My dad’s life made him the fighter he is.”
“Nigel was always the fan favorite because he was like the real one,” said Hearn. “You never knew what he was going to do. You see him in a club, and then you see him win a world title, whereas Eubank would be wearing a monocle and wearing jumpers.
“He actually became that role. When he came into my dad’s office, he was never like that. But he built that act and actually believed that act and became that act. So to him, it wasn’t an act.
“He’d walk down Bond street and buy a cane. He’d pay forty or fifty grand for a cane,” said Hearn about Eubank Sr.
“Every camp is hard. We’re constantly working and building to become the best fighter I can be,” said Conor Benn. “We push the limits every single camp. It’s such a big fantasy fight.
“I thrive on challenges, and I wanted to make the fight happen. So we made the fight happen. It’s about maintaining weight for me. I still have a little bit to lose, but yeah, yeah, I’m 15 or 16 pounds over welterweight right now.
“I’m good. I’m just ready to go in and do the business. The only post on that account is I’m going to be a world champion. I just got to get the media work done. All the hard work in the gym is done,” said Conor. “I can’t wait to get my hands around him,” said Benn.
