Conor Benn has vowed to retire Chris Eubank Jr and says “personal reasons” are at the heart of the pair’s feud ahead of their grudge match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Benn and Eubank Jr will meet three decades on from the rematch between their famous fathers this Saturday, live on Sky Sports Box Office, in a collision of iconic family legacies having evolved into unrelenting controversy and a bad-blooded war of insults.
The bitter rivals had originally been due to fight in October 2022 only for the bout to be cancelled when Benn failed two voluntary drug tests.
Benn spent the next two years battling to have his ban lifted, while Eubank Jr has persistently used the incident to prod his opponent throughout a lengthy build-up.
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Barry McGuigan, Kell Brook and Paddy Considine share their Eubank Jr vs Benn fight predictions
“We’re focused on the future. We’re focused on finishing what we started,” Benn told Sky Sports. “I hate what he stands for. I hate who he is as a man, what he’s chasing.
“Just him as a man personally for reasons that aren’t public, personal reasons, between me and Chris that he’s fully aware of as to why I really dislike him.
“A fight’s a fight. Obviously there is interest with the history of our dads, us being our fathers’ sons, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
“But I think there’s a big personality clash, the controversy, the adversity, it sells. It doesn’t change the outcome of April 26 and what I’m going to do to him.”
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Andy Scott is joined by Joe Cordina and Gary Logan to analyse the key strategies and tactics that will be used by Eubank Jr and Benn
Despite Benn’s suspension, an easily-sold fight against Eubank Jr always felt likely if and once he was cleared to return.
But with both fighters on the brink of challenging for world titles, Benn has questioned Eubank Jr’s motivation for making this career move and plans to send his opponent into retirement.
“It was a fight that was never going away,” Benn continued. “Obviously I had the WBC world title ready there for me to take against [Mario] Barrios, which is still the plan after I knock Eubank out.
“But it was a fight that just seemed to never go away. It was a fight that the public demanded and commercially made a lot more sense.
“When he loses he has to retire. I don’t understand why at this stage of his career he’d choose to fight a welterweight over a world title. I can drop down and go and get my world title.
“But, for me, he’s chasing one thing and that’s the difference between me and him.”
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George Groves says Benn has not fought at the same level as Eubank Jr – and believes Saturday’s fight is a big step up for him
Benn is a perfect 23-0 as a professional having extended his record with a unanimous decision win over Peter Dobson in February 2024.
The 28-year-old admits the time will come when he loses his first fight. He doesn’t plan on it being Saturday.
“I’ve not lost. I’m undefeated. He will not be my first loss. That man I refuse to lose to,” said Benn.
“I will lose fights, that goes without saying. My style is entertaining but there’s a level of vulnerability there that we’re still working on. But not to him. Not to him.
“The thought of losing to him, the fear of losing to him is what gets me out of bed at five in the morning.”
Chris Eubank vs Conor Benn will be live on Saturday April 26 on Sky Sports Box Office. Book now!
