Conor Benn’s training team are excited to see what their charge does when he meets Chris Eubank Jnr in their November 15 return.

Eubank Jnr won a decision in a gritty battle that gave tens of thousands of fans watching live a night to remember. It came at a cost, as he spent two nights in a hospital.

The fight was also a commercial juggernaut; both fighters earned career-high paydays.

“But for me as Conor Benn’s coach, obviously, I wanted to see him with his hand raised,” said Tony Sims, Benn’s chief second. “And he fought his heart out, but he never boxed to the potential that I know he can box to. You’ve got to bear in mind, he was out nearly a year and a half. He’s moved up two weight divisions to take that fight on.

“I mean, he barely weighed over a light middleweight on the morning of the weigh-in. And he was drinking bottles of water on the way to the weigh-in, so he’s a natural welterweight. So obviously, you’re fighting a much bigger guy. But listen, he’s got a second bite of the cherry and I believe there’s a lot more that we ain't seen of Conor Benn that I’ve seen in the gym of him.

“He’s got everything in his locker to go and win this second fight. And he knows what it’s like now to box up a middleweight.” 

The weight was a contentious issue on both sides.

Eubank Jnr was fined by the British Boxing Board of Control for using social media to document his weight-making struggles, including using a sauna, which is forbidden by the BBBofC.

While Eubank’s team was far from enthused having to fight at 160lbs (Eubank paid a penalty for missing it by a fraction of the weight), they were also disappointed by the contractual agreement that stated Eubank could only put on 10lbs before a check weigh-in the following day.

Conversely, Benn’s team contended their charge was the one at the disadvantage. It was argued that he was moving up two weight divisions (he weighed 153 and 150 for his two previous fights), essentially a natural welterweight facing someone who has campaigned for a world title at super middleweight.

Regardless, Sims also felt his fighter was hampered by inactivity. 

After the 2022 positives for PEDs - something Benn has always strenuously denied - ahead of their first proposed fight date, Benn boxed just twice in America. He had not fought for 14 months before the Eubank fight finally took place.

Eubank was just six month removed from a knockout win over Kamil Szeremeta last October 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“[Benn] got the rust off after not boxing for a long time,” Sims said. “Whereas Chris had that warm-up fight going into the fight. So I feel like he knows what he’s getting into now. I feel like he’ll produce a lot better performance than he did the first time around and I think we’ll see Conor Benn win this fight.”

Eubank got further underneath Benn’s skin before the first fight when he slapped him with eggs at their first press conference.

Benn fought angry in April, as recognized by his corner.

“I think it was obviously an emotional fight,” Sims admitted. “He’s been wanting it to get back in the ring. Obviously, he had the two fights in America but it was such a long time since he boxed there. He obviously wanted to get back in there.

“I feel like obviously the crowd and the stadium and the build-up all around it was a lot for him to take in. And I just feel like he’s a lot better fighter than we saw there; a lot better. And I believe that we’ll see that in the next fight. I feel like when I’ve spoken to him since, he obviously hurt Chris early in the fight – I think it was the third round – and then he hurt him again. And I think he felt like when he was catching him, he felt like he was wobbling him and he felt like that knockout was going to come with every punch.

“So, I think that he was more looking for the KO than to win the points decision. And that comes with experience as well. Obviously, Chris didn’t want to lose the fight either and he obviously fought his heart out as well, but I believe it'll be a more sensible approach to the next fight. I think he’ll be mentally better switched on, as I say, nearly a year and a half out the ring. It’s a lot for any athlete or any sportsman to not do their event for nearly a year and a half. And I think next time we’ll see a much better Conor Benn in there.”

Sims’ sentiments are echoed by John Ryder, a Sims gym protégé who now helps Tony work with his fighters in the gym.

The former WBO interim 168lbs titlist believes lessons learned from the first fight will be valuable for Benn, who lost for the first time and, at 28, is now 23-1 (14 KOs).

“I think Conor uses his head more now,” said Ryder. “I think he let his heart rule him a bit that night I think he’d be a lot smarter; he will box a lot better and I think he’ll come away with a win

“I think I could give an argument for [Eubank to win], yeah.

“Listen, if Conor lets his heart rule his head again then he can play into Chris’ hands but I think he’ll be smart now. I think he’s learned from his lessons from last time and ultimately it was a very close fight. I mean it came down to what… the final two or three rounds, and as Conor being a smaller man going against a bigger man, you’d expect him to fade from the weight of Chris leaning on and whatnot, but I think Conor would just be better prepared now.

“It’d be his second fight up at middleweight, I think he might even come in a bit heavier himself and just feel better and impose himself. I think Chris allowed Conor to work [and] his have his fight early doors and Chris come on strong the second half of the fight and almost let Conor blow himself out with the big shots and Conor was swinging in from his hips and like missing wildly, but I think Conor will listen to Tony more now and then just go and try and box his ears off.”

Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, is on The Ring ratings panel and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.