“Listen, for the fans, it was a fantastic fight,” says trainer Tony Sims, thinking back to the April night when his fighter, Conor Benn, lost for the first time in his career to bitter rival Chris Eubank Jnr.
“Not just the fight, but the actual event itself and people that can remember back to their [Eubank and Benn’s] fathers fighting. It brought back all their memories. It was a fantastic event. And like everyone said, it was the Fight of the Year. It probably was.”
The boxers will fight again on November 15, back at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. As is the case with the location, the terms of the rematch are also the same as its predecessor.
That means Benn, who can still box at welterweight, will climb back to 160lbs, and Eubank, more comfortable at 168, stays at middleweight.
More has been made of the latter than the former.
Eubank had to pay a substantial fine for coming in marginally over the weight last time, and neither fighter was allowed to put on more than 10lbs by the following morning.
“Well, to make the fight, they’ve both got to do things that they've never done, you know, like Conor’s never jumped up two weights before. So it’s a massive jump,” said Sims. “I mean, how heavy can Chris weigh in more than Conor? He was already a lot heavier than him on the night. Even at the weigh-in, he was a lot heavier than him.”
A fight at 168lbs would be out of the question.
“Because then you’re doing three weight divisions,” Sims adds. “Bearing in mind, he [Benn] weighed 156 for the fight, so he’s not even nowhere near 160, let alone 168. So to make the fight, there’s got to be concessions from both sides. And the way I looked at it is Chris made 160 for his last five fights and there wasn’t any talk about that, really. He only boxed a few months before the Conor Benn fight and made 160 in Saudi. No one said anything. So, you know, I believe he could have made 160 for this fight. He weighed a little bit over, but he turned up to the weigh-in like with 10 minutes to go, you know what I mean? So, he turned up really late. I believe he could have made that, but listen, it is what it is. Conor Benn can’t move up a third weight to 168 so there’s got to be a realistic weight that Chris has to make, which is his natural weight; 160. And Conor’s probably natural weight for this fight is like between 154 and 156.”
Benn lost for the first time in 24 fights. Now 28, the Essex fighter is hungry for revenge.
“Obviously he wanted to win the fight,” said Sims. “As I say, he believed that he could knock Chris Eubank out, but it was too much belief in that on the night. And I think he knows he’s better than what he was in that fight. Obviously, it’s great to get the adoration of the fans, they all loved the fight. But it’s like I’m saying to him, ‘We’re going in there to win. We want to win the fight.’
“He took this first defeat on the chin, but I believe that he’s got a lot of belief in himself that he can win this next fight. He knows what he’s got to do. He knows what’s in front of him.”
Sims insists Benn has more potential than he showed in April, that there is more to see from his fighter.
“I’ve seen what he can produce in the gym,” added Sims. “I don’t know if Chris Eubank’s got much more than he showed on that night. Obviously, the fight's going to be spectacular. I mean, a lot of people bought into the first fight, but I think because it was like the Gatti-Wards, we never expected the fight to be like that. And it lived up to such a build-up.
“And then, when we’ve seen the fight, it’s like when Gatti and Ward fought, everyone screamed for a return, screamed for the trilogy, because when you see a fight like that, especially when you’re seeing it live as well, it’s like you’re sitting there open-mouthed because you can’t take your eyes off it for one second, because anything could happen. And I think the second fight is going to be a great fight – but I think Conor Benn will have too much for him this time.”
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.
