Pick it: Chris Eubank Jnr vs. Conor Benn II

When to Watch: Saturday, November 15 at 11:45 a.m. Eastern Time (4:45 p.m. GMT) 

Why to Watch: Their first fight took a heated rivalry outside of the ring and lived up to it with a pitched battle between the ropes. Now Chris Eubank Jnr and Conor Benn return to the same site, headlining at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. 

For Eubank, he wants the same result – a victory – but for that win to come more easily. Benn, meanwhile, is looking to even the score and either set up a trilogy match or send himself with momentum to the opportunities awaiting in other weight classes.

Eubank Jnr, 35-3 (25 KOs), is of course the namesake son of Chris Eubank Snr, who was a star at middleweight and super middleweight in the 1990s and shared a storied pair of collisions with Nigel Benn. Eubank Jnr turned pro in 2011, lost a split decision to Billy Joe Saunders in 2014, and rebounded with wins over Arthur Abraham and Avni Yildirim. That landed him a fight with then-WBA titleholder George Groves in 2018; Groves won a unanimous decision.

The past rivalry between the fathers lent itself naturally to one between their sons. Alas, an initial fight date with Conor Benn in October 2022 was called off after Benn tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing drug. Instead, Eubank Jnr met Liam Smith in January 2023 and lost via fourth-round TKO, though some feel that stoppage came in part because of an elbow from Smith. Eubank Jnr won their rematch nine months later, stopping Smith in the 10th round.

The clash between the second generation at last took place this past April. Eubank won a clear unanimous decision, 116-112 on all three scorecards, but he had to go through hell to do it – both before and during the bout. He had agreed to a limit on how much he could rehydrate after making 160lbs. And that further amplified his struggle, as he took some hard shots while digging deep for the higher gear that took him to a grueling victory.

There is once again a rehydration clause in this rematch. Eubank, a 36-year-old from Brighton, England, will likely have focused on finding a safer way to drain down to middleweight and then regain ample fluids, nutrients and energy afterward. And there will also be questions of how much the first fight took out of Eubank – and how much Benn might have improved for this second go-around.

Benn, 23-1 (14 KOs), took his first professional loss against Eubank and had to take it in stride. He came up short on a grand stage against someone who had been a bitter rival, but he also showed good speed and power-punching against a naturally larger opponent.

Their first fight was also by far the sternest test yet in Benn’s professional career. While his father, like Eubank’s dad, competed at 160 and 168lbs, Conor Benn entered the paid ranks in 2016 as a welterweight and remained in the division through 2022. In that time, his biggest wins came against the faded versions of Adrian Granados (UD10 in 2021), Chris Algieri (KO4 in 2021) and Chris van Heerden (TKO2 in 2022).

Benn rightly took a lot of criticism after he tested positive for clomifene, and further raised eyebrows in reportedly blaming the test result on his consumption of eggs. Benn was also suspended for a time, though he circumvented that with a pair of bouts in the United States – decisions over the 33-3-3 Rodolfo Orozco in September 2023 and the 16-0 Peter Dobson in February 2024. 

Those two bouts were at junior middleweight. Benn came in at less than 157lbs for the first fight with Eubank and could potentially bring his body back down following the rematch (barring a trilogy), though going as low as welterweight may be less viable for the 29-year-old from Ilford, England. 

There are several big names at 154lbs, and there’s also a bit of a power vacuum at 147lbs. So there is plenty of opportunity ahead for Benn; those opportunities will be further amplified if they build upon a victory.

On the undercard is a welterweight bout between Jack Catterall, 31-2 (13 KOs), and Ekow Essuman, 22-1 (8 KOs); a fight between junior welterweight prospect Adam Azim, 13-0 (10 KOs), and Kurt Scoby, 18-1 (16 KOs); and a heavyweight match featuring former cruiserweight title challenger Richard Riakporhe, 18-1 (14 KOs), taking on Tommy Welch, 16-0 (9 KOs).

More Fights to Watch

Thursday, November 13: Steven Butler vs. Stephane Fondjo (Punching Grace)

The broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time (11:30 p.m. GMT).

Butler, a 30-year-old super middleweight from Montreal, Canada, was originally supposed to meet Erik Bazinyan – not once, but twice. Their March fight was postponed when Bazinyan suffered a sprained ankle ligament. And Bazinyan pulled out of this date as well, saying he got hurt in training. 

Butler, 36-5-1 (30 KOs), has fallen short against the top tier as well as foes who are levels below that. Among his defeats are a TKO5 to Ryota Murata in 2019, a TKO2 to Janibek Alimkhanuly in 2023 and a TKO9 to the 18-1 Patrice Volny last year. Butler has won two straight since the Volny bout, including avenging another one of his losses – a 2021 upset stoppage against the 27-10-3 Jose de Jesus Macias – taking out Macias in four rounds this past June.

Fondjo, 14-1-1 (9 KOs), is a 27-year-old from Cameroon. His lone defeat came in 2021, when he lost a six-round split decision to the 4-2 Iago Kiziria. Since then, Fondjo has gone 8-0-1, fighting to a draw last November against the 28-12 Paul Valenzuela Cuesta and then shutting out the 10-12-2 Salim Ben Rejeb in February.

Among the prospects featured on the undercard at the Casino de Montreal: junior welterweight Jhon Orobio, 15-0 (13 KOs), faces Xolisani Ndongeni, 33-7 (19 KOs); lightweight Luis Santana, 14-0 (7 KOs), takes on Pedro Manuel Gomez, 13-3 (3 KOs); and super middleweight Moreno Fendero, 12-0 (10 KOs), steps in with William Langston, 14-4-1 (9 KOs).

Friday, November 14: Julio Cabrera vs. Brian Mosinos (ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes)

The broadcast begins at 9 p.m. Eastern Time (2 a.m. BST).

Cabrera, 9-2-1 (2 KOs), is a 30-year-old flyweight from Nicaragua; this show is taking place in the capital city of Managua. Both of his defeats came against Kevin Vivas: via four-round unanimous decision in 2022 when Vivas was 1-0, and via split decision this past March when Vivas was 7-3. Cabrera returned in July and outpointed the 5-3-1 Yilmer Gonzalez.

Mosinos, 24-7 (7 KOs), is a 28-year-old from Mexico City, Mexico. He has lost three in a row, dropping a split decision to former junior flyweight titleholder Elwin Soto in 2023; a unanimous decision later that year to Dave Apolinario (who would go on to challenge for a belt); and a 10th-round knockout nearly a year ago at the hands of the 11-1-1 Pedro Delgado Gaytan.

Saturday, November 15: Rafael Espinoza vs. Arnold Khegai (Top Rank Classics via the Roku Channel, Tubi and Vizio apps)

The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. GMT).

Espinoza, 27-0 (23 KOs), is the WBO featherweight titleholder. The 31-year-old from Guadalajara, Mexico, will be making his fourth defense.

Espinoza won the WBO belt from Robeisy Ramirez via majority decision in late 2023, dominated Sergio Chirino with three knockdowns and a fourth-round TKO in June 2024, took out Ramirez in the sixth round of their rematch last December, and scored a seventh-round stoppage of Edward Vazquez this May on the undercard of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. William Scull.

If he remains at featherweight, then Espinoza’s fellow titleholders are Angelo Leo (IBF), Nick Ball (whom the WBA has ordered to defend against Brandon Figueroa), and Stephen Fulton (the WBC titleholder whose next fight is next month against O’Shaquie Foster for that organization’s belt at 130lbs. The top six contenders currently ranked by the WBO are Luis Nery, Figueroa, Elijah Pierce, Kenji Fujita, Ryuto Owan and Omar Trinidad.

Khegai, 23-2-1 (14 KOs), is a 33-year-old featherweight from Ukraine who now lives in Los Angeles, California. Khegai turned pro a decade ago, splitting his time between the junior featherweight and featherweight divisions. He had a few appearances on ShoBox, and by the start of 2020 was in with Stephen Fulton on a Showtime undercard. That fight ended with Fulton’s hands raised as the unanimous decision winner, and the Philadelphian would go on to capture a world title at 122lbs in his very next bout. 

As for Khegai, it was time to rebuild. He won six straight in five countries, which landed Khegai a match this past March against longtime contender Joet Gonzalez. Gonzalez took the split nod. Khegai returned in September with an eight-round decision over Liborio Solis, a former junior bantamweight titleholder well beyond his ideal weight and well past his prime.

Khegai is ranked ninth by the WBO. The odds are against him, given both his own track record and that of Espinoza. But Khegai also must know that he needs a victory, or at least a good performance in defeat, in order to maintain some semblance of relevance in the sport.

The undercard includes an IBF elimination bout between junior welterweights Lindolfo Delgado, 23-0 (16 KOs), and Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela, 31-4-1 (17 KOs). Delgado, ranked third, is coming off a majority decision victory in April against the 17-1-1 Elvis Rodriguez. Valenzuela, ranked fourth, is two bouts removed from getting stopped in the eighth round by Subriel Matias in March. The IBF has its top two spots vacant, and its world titleholder at 140lbs is Richardson Hitchins.

Also on this show at Arena Coliseo in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, heavyweight prospect “Ravishing” Richard Torrez Jr., 13-0 (11 KOs), will face Tomas Salek, 23-7 (14 KOs); and junior welterweight prospect Emiliano Vargas, 15-0 (13 KOs), will take on Jonathan Montrel, 19-3 (13 KOs).

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.