Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn 2: What to expect in the epic rematch in London

It took years for rivals Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr. to finally share the ring. Their first fight took place in April and was a surprising entrant into the Fight of the Year conversation. On Saturday in London, Benn and Eubank will run it back for a highly anticipated rematch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The rivalry between the two fighters dates back to their fathers, Chris Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn, who fought two historic British megafights in the 1990s. As the sons met in April, it led to the reunion of the Eubanks after years of being estranged. Eubank Sr. was by his son’s side for the first fight and the pair have continued to build their relationship in the months that followed, with Eubank Jr. saying he spent his 36th birthday with his father, having “conversations which we’ve never had before.”

The narrative coming into the first fight was that Benn would be too small to handle Eubank’s power. Eubank is a natural 160-pound fighter who had fought as high as 168 pounds. Meanwhile, Benn mostly fought around 147 pounds. Eubank even slightly missed weight, coming in 0.05 pounds heavy and forfeiting $500,000 for the weight miss.

Despite that narrative, it was Benn who came out firing winging power punches, even scoring the first shot that truly hurt either man, a big left hand that forced Eubank to clinch and recover.

Eubank eventually began to take over the fight as the two men continued to trade shots in furious exchanges. By the end of 12 rounds of action, the fans had been treated to a spectacular fight, and Eubank got the win by unanimous scorecards of 116-112.

“I’m not going to lie, I didn’t expect he’d be the guy to do that,” Eubank said after the fight. “Everything surprised me. I didn’t know he had what he had in him. I really didn’t. I thought I would break him early and I underestimated him. I didn’t train for a fight like that.”

A rematch was a sure thing, though there were delays. The original plan was for the rematch to take place in September, but Eubank said he would not be able to be ready for the date, pushing it to Saturday.

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

• Chris Eubank Jr. -190 vs. Conor Benn +140, middleweights
• Jack Catterall -235 vs. Ekow Essuman +170, welterweights
• Adam Azim -1667 vs. Kurt Scoby +850, junior welterweights
• Ishmael Davis -345 vs. Sam Gilley +240, junior middleweights
• Richard Riakporhe vs. Tommy Welch, heavyweights
• Mikie Tallon -5000 vs. Fezan Shahid +1400, flyweights

Prediction

The first fight felt like Benn giving everything he had in his entire body and soul, and he still came up short. It was incredible to see him fire big shots from the jump, throwing off the narrative that he was too small and had faced very little legitimate competition in his career. Even more impressive was Benn’s ability to absorb heavy shots from a much bigger man.

The real question entering the rematch is if Benn can possibly be better than he was in April. That’s a very big ask for Benn. Eubank is still the bigger fighter, and has better pure boxing skills. The more skilled fighter is likely to be the fighter who is able to make the bigger adjustments in a rematch.

For as great as the first fight was, I’m expecting the rematch to be more one-sided in Eubank’s favor, though Benn will have his moments. Pick: Chris Eubank Jr. via TKO9