Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn: ‘Only their size makes this a 50-50 fight’, says promoter Eddie Hearn

Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr completed their public workouts ahead of Saturday’s Sky Sports Box Office clash.

In a Ring Magazine event, they headline at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium to pursue their own rivalry while they follow in the footsteps of their famous fathers, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr.

Both Benn and Eubank Jr completed a workout on the pads on Wednesday, neither revealing too much of their hand before Saturday’s fight. Benn still looked nimble as he closed in on trainer Tony Sims, shifting his upper body from one side to the other as he drilled in punches with his padman on the ropes.

Speculation might be mounting as to how taxing Eubank could find the weight cut at middleweight, but he still threw clusters of punches, worked the body belt and gave glimpses of his uppercut, a power shot he has often used to good effect.

Benn is a welterweight moving up two divisions, but his promoter Eddie Hearn is convinced his fighter can handle the disparity in size for this fight.

“I can’t tell you how ready Conor Benn is. If you listen to Nigel Benn, there is no way in the world Conor is losing on Saturday. I see it as a very competitive fight but I truly believe Conor Benn will stop him inside six rounds,” Hearn told Sky Sports.

The promoter added: “Pound for pound, it isn’t even close, this fight. But it’s the size that makes it a 50-50 fight. That’s the problem for us in this fight. But we accept the problem, we’ve trained for the problem and we’ll overcome the problem on Saturday.”

Benn had demanded an 18-foot ring for this fight. That suggests he expects Eubank to move on his feet and that he wants to be able to cut off the space and trap his opponent, forcing him to trade toe-to-toe.

But Eubank’s public display gave little clue as to whether he was intending to box and move, or stand and fight.

“It’ll be a nice small ring to have a tear-up in,” Hearn said of Saturday. “It might suit Eubank. Conor can box, by the way, he’s got great legs and his movement’s very good. It’s not like he just comes forward.

“That’s the thing that I think will give Eubank fits, is Conor’s movement, the way he dips down, comes in.

“It’s horrible,” the promoter continued. “Stuck against the ropes, boom, boom, it’s the speed of it.

“He’s not one of those fighters that starts fast out of the gate, Eubank. Look at the Liam Smith fight, it’s a cracking example.

“He may decide to stand and have a shootout. There are very few fighters that are as sharp as Conor Benn early in a fight like that.

“Conor tries to end the fight in the first round, that’s why he’s so exciting.

“If he decides to stand and trade, it’s all over in three rounds, one way or the other. It will be the British Hagler-Hearns. That’s what it’ll be.”

It would be a moment in the sport for a Benn to get a win over a Eubank, a generation after the fathers fought a second and last time.

“Sitting there with Nigel earlier, he’s living it through Conor. He says I’m walking with my boy on Saturday, they’re going to do the ringwalk together, with the whole team, it means a lot to him,” Hearn said.

“There’s a difference between wanting to win and doing anything to win and that’s what Conor Ben will do on Saturday – anything to win this fight.”

Chris Eubank vs Conor Benn will be live on Saturday April 26 on Sky Sports Box Office. Book now!