As fight fans are aware, Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr will clash in what is being hyped as a “legacy fight” on October 8, in what will be a catch-weight showdown between the two sons of legends. Benn, who fights at welterweight, will meet Eubank Jr, who fights at middleweight and sometimes super-middle, at an agreed catch-weight of 157 pounds.
The fight, which carries with it some seriously powerful nostalgic value – the two epic rumbles between Benn and Eubank snr having genuinely captured the interest and imagination of an entire nation back in the 1990s – can be expected to enjoy plenty more hype and headlines between now and October 8.
But one of the big talking points regarding this fight is the weight – how will Benn cope going up 10 pounds, and how will Eubank Jr cope going down three pounds (or down 11 pounds if you are going by his 168 pound fights, this a weight that seemed to suit Eubank quite well)? Naturally, a rehydration clause has been put in place, and now Dan Rafael has reported how a stiff fine of $100,000 will have to be paid by either fighter for every pound in weight they weigh-in over the agreed 157.
This is a lot of money, even if we strongly suspect both fighters will be well paid for this one (a PPV fight as it is). But can Eubank get down and not feel depleted? Can Benn really add sufficient bulk to his frame? If Benn can add the muscle and not have his speed compromised, and, crucially, if he can carry his punching power up with him, we will have ourselves a very interesting fight in October. Both men seem to have a genuinely healthy dislike for each other, and Benn has vowed to be the first man to KO Eubank (who has been blessed with a chin to rank up there with his father’s).
It’s a huge fight in the UK, it has generated plenty of buzz as well as differing opinions, and the name factor alone was always going to ensure that Benn-Eubank Jr “The Next Generation” would be a smash hit. But who wins? It really is a tough fight to call.
