Eubank Jr. outpoints Benn in thrilling grudge bout

LONDON -- Three years after their fight was canceled at short notice and 32 years since their fathers' rematch, Chris Eubank Jr unanimously outpointed Conor Benn in a non-title middleweight bout on Saturday.

Eubank (35-3, 25 KOs) earned scores of 116-112 on all three scorecards to triumph over Benn (23-1, 14 KOs) to settle the grudge match between the two English boxers, the biggest non-heavyweight boxing event in the United Kingdom since Carl Froch versus George Groves in May 2014.

Eubank had Benn in trouble in the final round but there were no knockdowns in a fight that lived up to expectations in front of 62,000 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England.

Eubank showed no signs of being impacted by his battle to make the 160-pound weight limit, which he failed to do by 0.05 pounds on Friday and resulted in a $500,000 (£375,000) penalty. In fact, he finished the stronger with a strong performance in the final two rounds.

"I knew I was capable of that," Eubank Jr, who was taken to hospital after the fight as a precaution on doctor's advice, said. "The fact that our fathers did what they did all those years ago brings out a spirit in you and we showed that tonight.

"I pushed through. There is a lot of things that have gone on in my life, and I am happy to have this man [his dad] back with me. We upheld the family name, onwards and upwards.

"I didn't know Conor had what he had in him."

No major title was on the line, but it was a hugely satisfying win for Eubank whose father stopped Conor's dad Nigel in 1990 before their points draw in 1993 for world middleweight and super middleweight titles respectively. Despite reportedly being estranged from Chris Jr, Chris Sr walked his son to the ring and sat ringside with Nigel.

"I wasn't sure he would be here, it gave me a lift. It was special. He needed to be here, all of this is because what he did," Chris Jr said.

Despite reportedly being estranged from Chris Jr, Chris Sr walked his son to the ring and sat ringside with Nigel. Victory keeps Eubank in contention for a shot at Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, the WBC, WBA and WBO world super middleweight champion, in 2026.

Eubank has not held a full version of the four major world titles, but this was an impressive display where he showed character to come through some tough rounds and triumph. For Benn, a return to welterweight or junior middleweight is likely after suffering the first defeat of his professional career in his biggest fight yet.

Benn is young enough to revive his career but this defeat, after an acrimonious three-year build-up which included Eubank smashing an egg on his face at a news conference, will hurt. Afterwards, he suggested may continue at middleweight. "Maybe inactivity was a factor, I had 14 months out of the ring. It was a close fight, I'll have to watch it back. I enjoyed it," Benn said. "May be I stayed on the ropes too long. We knew Chris is a good fighter and fighting talk is fighting talk. I believe I can fight at 160."

Since the fight is expected to return high pay-per-view revenue from the United Kingdom audience, and that they reportedly shared an £18 million purse, there is also a good chance we get to see a fourth episode of the Eubank-Benn family rivalry.

Benn, 28, had not fought in the United Kingdom for three years due to a ban for a positive drugs test which caused a scheduled fight versus Eubank to be cancelled at two days' notice in October 2022.

But it was not a warm welcome home from the fans in north London, who booed his entrance to the ring, while Eubank was cheered as he was flanked by his dad Chris Sr. Since then Benn's career has largely been on hold and he had not fought for 14 months before facing Eubank, who unusually for him was not the villain of the show as he was cheered into the ring.

Benn, who grew up in Spain and Australia before moving to Essex in England to begin his professional career aged 19, missed wildly with some of his punches in the opening round, but he probably connected with enough to win the opener.

Benn started more aggressively and his quick hands seemed to surprise Eubank, as he landed some right hooks and even a lead left hook in Round 2. Benn's movement was also a problem for Eubank early on but in Round 4 he caught up with him to land a combination, and then a brilliant right uppercut that snapped back Benn's head.

Eubank, 35, from Brighton, began finding Benn more regularly in Round 5 as he doubled up on his jab and whipped in right hooks. Both landed good shots in Round 6 of a gripping fight, but Eubank's jab was superior. Benn's right hooks had plenty of venom all night, but Eubank's punches flowed better and the Brighton-based boxer had a good Round 7.

Round 8 was brutal. Both stood toe-to-toe exchanging leather without any thought about self-defence. It was hard to separate them as both landed crunching shots.

Benn was full of vigour at the start of Round 9, but Eubank responded later in the round with some mighty right hands. Eubank was cut by his right eye in the ninth and looked fatigued as Benn swarmed over him. Benn briefly staggered Eubank with a short left in Round 10 and later in the round dropped a right hand on his disorganised opponent.

Benn was now in the ascendancy despite a late rally from Eubank in Round 10.

Eubank recovered from a poor Round 10 to outwork Benn in a gruelling 11th before some furious exchanges in the final round. Eubank got the better of it in Round 12, and nearly knocked Benn off his feet with a left hook. Somehow Benn remained on his feet after being bombarded with hooks in the final minute.

There were no knockdowns, but it was great entertainment.