Conor Benn looks to prove just how much he has grown as a fighter come April 26 against Chris Eubank Jr. at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The 27-year-old has been largely inactive for the best past of three years since his first scheduled fight with Eubank was canned after he tested positive for a banned substance, although he did have two low-key points wins on US soil in that time. Now cleared to fight in the UK, he is set for by far the biggest stage and toughest test of his campaign so far.
Prior to the doping scandal, Benn had beaten the likes of Chris Algieri, Samuel Vargas and Chris van Heerden, winning all by early knockout. The aggressive Brit has had more stoppages than points wins, though fought twice to decision against Frenchman Cedrick Peynaud in 2017 and 2018.
Peynaud remains the only fighter to have put Benn down, doing so twice in the first round of their first meeting. Speaking to World Boxing News about his former rival’s ability, he said he ‘has everything he needs’ to become a world champion and feels that many will be surprised by how the Eubank fight will play out.
“Eubank will have the weight advantage for me because that’s his base weight class. But I think Benn, with his speed, could surprise more than one [person].
“Now we’ll see what strategy he implements. But Benn has everything he needs to become a world champion. Whether he’ll achieve that goal remains to be seen. In any case, he has all the means and the people around him to push him to that end. God has a plan for everyone; we’ll see what his plan is.”
Benn is moving up two weight classes from his natural 147 pounds to face Eubank at middleweight, thus one of the biggest questions ahead of the fight is how he handles it. Eubank, however, faces a 10 pound rehydration clause on the morning of the fight.
