When the first bell goes and the crowd waits in anticipation for Chris Eubank Jnr and Conor Benn, many will be hoping for a repeat of what happened in April.

At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Eubank Jnr saw off a courageous and ferocious challenge from a determined Benn to win a captivating 12-rounder. In doing so, he continued from where his father had left off against Conor’s dad, Nigel, having defeated and then drawn with Benn Snr in their rematch.

Some feel a more cultured and less maniacal Benn will win this time, and that the first fight took too much out of Eubank Snr who, at 36, has seen better days.

There are continuous debates over the weight and rehydration clause.

Eubank claims he has to dangerously boil down to 160lbs while Benn’s team contends he is just fine because he’s been making it for years.

On the flip side, Benn’s team say their man is at the weight disadvantage because he’s really only a welterweight, while Eubank’s team point out that Benn hasn’t made 147lbs in years.

One thing they can’t agree on is anything.

British boxing legends Carl Froch, Tony Bellew and George Groves all see different things ahead of the return.

“The first fight was great,” said Froch. “It had everything, [Chris Eubank] Senior climbing out of the Rolls Royce [following a period of estrangement with his son] and everyone cheering. “When I saw Senior get out, I kind of knew it was coming – we kind of all knew – but the first fight was good, in terms of it delivered. In terms of the level of the fight, none of the world champions at 160 are going to be worried about either of them two…” 

Froch has sparred a lot of rounds with Eubank Jnr in the past, and he has two victories over Groves, having stopped him controversially the first time but winning with a single right hand in the return.

“Eubank has done well,” Groves said. “I fought him seven years ago now, and I retired not that long after thinking I’ve had enough, and he’s still there. He’s survived Covid, he survived being knocked out [by Liam Smith], coming back and he just about survived Conor Benn… We’re all excited about the big fight this week, but after that fight was done, I was like, ‘That was brilliant, everything about that was perfect.’ And the fight delivered. The build-up, the big reveal of Chris [Snr], ‘Did we think Chris Snr was coming? Yes, we all knew Chris Snr was coming,’ we were all so excited when he climbed out of the Rolls Royce or whatever it was, and the fight lived up to it. It went to and fro and Eubank won and deserved to win and got the nod and I thought ‘Is he going to have enough about him now to go out [retire] on this mega high, this ultimate high. I’ve beaten my nemesis on the biggest stage.’ And he hasn’t. He’s gone back. Now, maybe, he might come unstuck. 

“Maybe one-one [Benn levels the series and] we get a third and we’re all happy. But I’m not sure he [Eubank]’s made the right decision in taking this rematch.”

Bellew used to boil himself right down to make light-heavyweight, but moved up to win a world crown at cruiserweight. He also did better in all four rematches he had.

“In all four, I fought opponents with very different styles,” Bellew explained. “The first one was Ovill McKenzie, then it goes to Isaac Chilemba, Nathan Cleverly and then David Haye, all different styles. Going into the rematch the biggest part for me was studying the mistakes that we made. Every fighter makes mistakes. Every fighter has tell-tale signs, and for me, going into the rematch with each one, I was well prepared for the tell-tale signs, even if they did change mid-fight. Because all fighters, you study them and study them and then you hit them for the first time and then they change into something completely different and they change, but your fighters like Nathan Cleverly and David Haye, they can’t change too much… Do your studying, do your due diligence, and it won’t be a problem.” 

Eubank Jnr has not just the first fight to learn from, but he’s drafted in Brian “BoMac” McIntyre and team to work with once more.

Groves believes that will benefit Eubank Jnr.

“The one thing that throws a caveat in is he’s with BoMac this fight, and he’s had success with him before, so we might see something different, with a different coach in the corner, maybe even the prep has been different and therefore the weight-making might be slightly different and he might be a bit fresher than I thought it was going to be on fight night,” said Groves. “But it’s going to be tough for him. I think if Conor Benn gets his tactics right – he wasted a lot of energy in the first fight – he’s got that style with big dynamic movements, big steps, he caught Eubank in the second round but didn’t really get anything off after that.”

Groves thinks Benn needs to use his fundamentals more and that it might come down to who wants it more.

“Conor Benn wants it more this time,” said Groves.

Froch, for one, is not certain that the weight issue is as significant as the Eubanks have implied.

“I think he’s making a lot of doing the weight and making 160, because it’s kind of a get-out clause, so if he gets beat [he can say], ‘I was dead at the weight,’” said Froch. “You can do 160, it is hard for you to do, but have a look at what your dad used to do to make weight, starving himself for a week and sitting in saunas and sucking on frozen peas. Fighters do that. Chris is a middleweight. He’s not a big middleweight.”

“I think weight is only a factor for one person in this fight – Benn,” countered Bellew.

However, Froch believes Eubank wins, although his belief is not laced with conviction.

“I think it’s close,” Froch added. “Chris Eubank Jnr might just get his hand raised, he may be the victor, I don’t think he stops Conor Benn. I think Conor Benn’s fitness and toughness and what he learned from the first fight and with his youth, he’s 29 years old, I just think that he’ll be okay – unless he gets caught flush with more than one shot. I can’t see that happening, but I don’t think that you can pick an out-and-out winner and give a full reason with conviction why Conor Benn wins or why Eubank wins.” 

Bellew believes that there is more room for growth in the younger man, and both he and Groves think the experience of Tottenham in April will help Benn on Saturday.

“It was the first fight of huge magnitude and they’re different to a normal fight night,” insisted Bellew. “They’re different to title fights. They’re different to anything you’ve ever experienced before. It will stand him in good stead, what he’s gone through, but he’s still got it all to do.”

Groves concurred.

“I think it was Conor Benn’s first [major] fight, so there was a little bit of inexperience there for him,” added Groves. “It was very hard to know the first time you’re doing something, and the pressure was on and Eubank had a lot of things in the build-up that didn’t go his way, which I’m sure bothered him and the fine [for marginally missing weight for the first bout] that was said to have been imposed on him. I know that would have haunted me the night before the fight, half a million dollars for an egg-shell’s weight over [the limit]. I think time will catch up with Eubank. I think he is tight at the weight. He fought me at super middleweight and then moved down, and that was seven years ago.”

For Bellew, the wear and tear of the first fight will more heavily affect Eubank Jnr.

“That was a war,” said the Liverpool man. “And you can’t have more than three of them in your career. Because after you’ve had three of them it starts to show. The signs are there, whether it’s slurred speech or your reflexes start going, you’re getting caught more and more, it does show. The turnaround speed of this rematch will benefit Conor Benn more. “The younger man will be the fresher man. I feel the older man and heavier man will come on later in the fight, I think it will show out again, I just feel – in my opinion – I think he learns more from the last fight, Conor Benn, and I think possibly this time he does get rid of him, because he had him [Eubank] out on his feet two or three times, and he just didn’t have it in him to press him.”