With the rematch less than two weeks ago, Chris Eubank Jnr and Conor Benn have traded words before they fight once again.
Eubank Jnr won their intense 12-round battle in April, and they box a return on November 15 to the same venue, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London.
The first fight was violent and exciting, and the boxers were due to meet again in September, and during a head-to-head interview on DAZN, Benn said Eubank delayed the rematch.
“I was ready, but I don’t need to fight when you want to fight,” said Eubank.
“I decided that I didn’t want to fight on September 20th because you did. I thought, ‘This kid wants to fight on September 20th so, you know what? We’re not going to do it.’ I don’t give a damn when this kid wants to fight. We’re gonna fight when I want to fight. I won. I don’t have to march to the beat of these people.”
Benn countered: “It was announced straight after the fight, you’re just coming out with some nonsense.”
Much has been made of the weight of both bouts, 160lbs. Eubank toils to make middleweight while Benn still says he should be boxing at welterweight.
“My next bout is scheduled at 147, just in case you’re confused,” he told Eubank. “I’m just letting you know.”
Eubank shot back: “You haven’t been a welterweight for four years.”
Benn, referring to videos Eubank Jnr posted on social media, replied: “Your last four fights were at 160, I didn’t see you wrapped up in a blanket for any of them.”
Eubank had to pay a substantial penalty, thought to be £500,000, for coming in fractionally overweight at the weigh-in.
Eubank claims he missed the weight due to a sabotaged weigh-in.
“Boxing is a very political sport,” Eubank said. “Sometimes it doesn’t matter how hard you work. I’ve been interim world champion before and still not gotten those title shots. At the end of the day, I’m a fighter. I want to fight. I want the big fights that the fans want. I’m blessed to be in a position where I don’t have to fight for world titles to be in the big fights.
“After I dispatch this kid again, for sure we’ll look at world titles.”
Away from the ring, both fighters have substantial followings and Eubank Jnr – as has been well-documented – enjoys high stakes poker games and has celebrity friends like Brazilian soccer star Neymar.
Asked what he thought of Eubank’s lifestyle, Benn said: “I rate it. Listen, if you can live good, party, go in the casinos, and all that… and waste your money, I’m happy for you…. And [you can] still beat me. I rate it. That’s impressive. ‘Cos I’m in the gym all the time. I take my hat off to him.”
Both fighters were asked how they believed the first fight would unfold, and Benn said: “I thought I was gonna have you face down on the canvas,” to which Eubank responded: “I thought I would break him. I thought he would quit, because that’s what cheaters do…. He was hurt, he was tired and he stayed in there. And for that I’ll give him his respect and his credit. Still a drug cheat, but you stayed in there…”
Eubank, of course, was discussing Benn’s failed PED tests in 2022 before they were originally due to meet in a fight that pulled at the 11th hour.
Now, Benn is promising vengeance.
“I’m going to systematically beat you November 15th,” he said.
“How do I stop that from happening?” asked Eubank Jnr. “I guess I have to be more vicious, more ferocious, and even more steadfast in my ability and my mindset. My mindset going into that fight was it doesn’t matter what this kid does, it doesn’t matter what he may or may not be capable of, I am not going to stop until I am pulled off of this guy. That was my mentality. It will be the same on November 15…. When that bell goes and fists start flying, I think he will revert back to what he is, which is an emotional kid who gets caught up in the moment and will make those mistakes.”
