Chris Eubank Jr. will welcome Conor Benn to the middleweight division almost three years on front their first scheduled fight.
The pair were set to continue a rivalry started by their fathers in the nineties before it was revealed Benn had twice tested positive for a banned substance. With his provisional suspension lifted late last year and approval to fight in the UK granted, his team quickly set about rearranging the Eubank bout.
Eubank has fought on three occasions since the first fight was canned, being stopped by Liam Smith but reversing that result in a rematch and then knocking out Kamil Szeremeta late last year. Benn has had two lower-level bouts in the US, beating both Rodolfo Orozco and Peter Dobson on points in his first super-welterweight fights.
The 28-year-old will move up another division to meet Eubank at 160. It is a jump that Roy Jones Jr, celebrated fighter and former trainer of Eubank, told the George Groves Boxing Club stacks the odds against him.
“Chris learned in the Liam Smith fight that you can’t understimate nobody, cause Liam Smith was not known as a knockout puncher and he got a win over Chris. That woke him up and prepared him for this fight. He takes his lesson and applies it to this fight, he’ll be fine.
“Conor, on the other hand, has to take a page out of his dad’s book. The only way he’s gonna beat Eubank is if he’s flat on his back.
“‘I’m not gonna outbox him, he’s bigger than me. I can’t move around and stay away from him cause he’s the bigger guy. I can’t let the bigger guy stop me. I have to stop him, because my family’s known for punching power … I’ve got to be true to the sport, my goal is to land a big left hook, or overhand right.’
“He has to know that. Chris’ job is to just go out there and be Chris, but Conor has to try to gamble and make something happen.”
The main event takes place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 26.
