Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn: ‘A nice small ring to have a tear-up in,’ says promoter Eddie Hearn | Boxing News


Conor Benn has demanded a small ring for Saturday’s showdown with Chris Eubank Jr, to ensure “a tear-up”.

They fight on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Box Office, on a Ring Magazine event at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, following in the footsteps of their famous fathers, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr, as they pursue their own rivalry.

Benn had demanded an 18-foot ring for this fight, smaller than standard, and got it.

“The only thing I asked for in my contract was an 18-foot ring,” Benn revealed to Sky Sports.

That suggests he expects Eubank to move on his feet and that he wants to be able to cut off the space and trap his opponent, forcing him to trade toe-to-toe.

“It’ll be a nice small ring to have a tear-up in,” Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports. “It might suit Eubank.

“He may decide to stand and have a shootout.”

But Hearn added: “Conor can box, by the way, he’s got great legs and his movement’s very good. It’s not like he just comes forward.

“That’s the thing that I think will give Eubank fits, is Conor’s movement, the way he dips down, comes in.

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Nigel Benn gives greater insight into Conor Benn’s sparring and why he thinks his son will win inside the first four rounds.

“It’s horrible,” the promoter continued. “Stuck against the ropes, boom, boom, it’s the speed of it.

“There are very few fighters that are as sharp as Conor Benn early in a fight like that.

“Conor tries to end the fight in the first round, that’s why he’s so exciting.

“Eubank is not one of those fighters that starts fast out of the gate. Look at the Liam Smith fight, it’s a cracking example.

“If he decides to stand and trade, it’s all over in three rounds, one way or the other. It will be the British Hagler-Hearns. That’s what it’ll be.”

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Back in 2013, Nigel Benn joined ‘Ringside’ to predict big things for a very young Conor Benn, while Johnny Nelson teased a potential Benn vs Chris Eubank Jr fight down the line.

Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr completed their public workouts on Wednesday.

They both demonstrated their padwork, though neither revealed too much of their hand before Saturday’s fight. Benn still looked nimble as he closed in on trainer Tony Sims, shifting his upper body from one side to the other as he drilled in punches with his padman leaning back on the ropes.

Speculation might be mounting as to how taxing Eubank could find the weight cut at middleweight, but he still threw clusters of punches, worked the body belt and gave glimpses of his uppercut, a power shot he has often used to good effect.

But Eubank’s public display gave little clue as to whether he was intending to box and move, or stand and fight.

Eubank Jr vs Benn
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Watch Eubank Jr vs Benn on Saturday live on Sky Sports Box Office

Benn is a welterweight moving up two divisions, but his promoter Hearn is convinced his fighter can handle the disparity in size for this fight.

“I can’t tell you how ready Conor Benn is. If you listen to Nigel Benn, there is no way in the world Conor is losing on Saturday. I see it as a very competitive fight but I truly believe Conor Benn will stop him inside six rounds,” Hearn said.

The promoter added: “Pound for pound, it isn’t even close, this fight. But it’s the size that makes it a 50-50 fight. That’s the problem for us in this fight. But we accept the problem, we’ve trained for the problem and we’ll overcome the problem on Saturday.”

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Matthew Macklin assesses where the fight between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn can be won when the two finally meet in the ring on Saturday.

It would be a moment in the sport for a Benn to get a win over a Eubank, a generation after the fathers fought a second and last time.

“Sitting there with Nigel earlier, he’s living it through Conor. He says I’m walking with my boy on Saturday, they’re going to do the ringwalk together, with the whole team, it means a lot to him,” Hearn said.

“There’s a difference between wanting to win and doing anything to win and that’s what Conor Benn will do on Saturday – anything to win this fight.”

Chris Eubank vs Conor Benn will be live on Saturday April 26 on Sky Sports Box Office. Book now!



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