Next month, Conor Benn looks the join the likes of Billy Joe Saunders by defeating Chris Eubank Jr.
Saunders is a two-weight world champion who won the WBO middleweight belt from Andy Lee in 2015 and defended it several times against the likes of big-punching David Lemieux. After moving up in weight and claiming the super-middleweight strap, he lost it against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in May 2021 and hasn’t fought since.
Earlier in his career, he took on Eubank in November 2015 on the undercard of Derek Chisora versus Tyson Fury II. It ended up being a close contest after Eubank rallied in the second half of the fight, but Saunders did enough to win via split decision at the conclusion of 12 rounds to retain his British, Commonwealth and European Middleweight titles.
Eubank – who has had 16 wins and two losses since – has a grudge match with fellow Brit Benn on April 26 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He is looking to be the first man to defeat Benn, promising a stoppage. After their fight, Saunders gave insight into his power to iFL TV and compared it to that of long-ruling middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
“Golovkin has more power in his p***k that what Eubank had in his hands.”
Saunders has been famously critical of his former foe, claiming he has little skill and will never be a world champion. It won’t surprise many that he is backing Benn to win the fight.
Eubank has stopped Liam Smith and Kamil Szeremeta in his last two fights and has a total of 25 KO wins from his 34 overall victories, though is not generally regarded as a power puncher.
Benn meanwhile has knocked out 14 of the 23 men he has beaten, albeit it at a lower level so far and all down at welterweight. Much of the debate as to who wins the fight is centred on how the 28-year-old handles moving up to 160 pounds, as well as if a rehydration clause of 10 pounds will hinder Eubank.
