Eubank and Benn talk legacy fight as they prepare to square off, Oct. 8
Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn sit face to face and discuss their second generation showdown.
With Chris Eubank Jr scheduled to face off against Conor Benn about 30 years after their fathers went at it on the British stage, both fighters sat down for a face off discussion about their October 8th match. Yesterday Matchroom released its full video feature of the sit-down between Eubank Jr and Benn and I’ll highlight some of what happened with excerpts below.
Conor Benn on why he pursued a fight with Chris Eubank Jr despite campaigning a couple divisions below him
“It’s the right time to make this fight. This is bigger than money. This is legacy, this is heritage. There’s history here. Domestically, it don’t get much bigger than this. You know, I’d say it’s one of the biggest fights of the decade.”
Chris Eubank Jr on his interest in taking this fight against Benn
“It’s groundbreaking. It will never happen again, and it’s never happened before. That excites me. We are going to make history. Two legends captured the imagination of a nation, became superstars 30 years ago and their sons now getting in the ring and people calling it a trilogy — it’s the stuff of legend, it’s the stuff of fantasy. It doesn’t get bigger than that.”
Eubank on if he believes Benn has bitten off more than he can chew by taking this fight
“Uh, yeah. It’s a big ask, but he has big balls. I respect that about him. It makes sense from business perspective, from an ability perspective it doesn’t. He’ll obviously tell you different. You don’t know until that bell goes.”
Benn on Eubank not believing he has the ability to compete with him
“That’s his opinion. It’s completely irrelevant. He’s gonna say that. I get paid, I’ve got plenty of paydays. Look at his trajectory and look at mine — says enough.”
Eubank on if he truly questions Benn’s boxing ability
“Is that really a question? There’s levels in the game. He’s never done anything like this before. I’ve done this for years. He doesn’t know what it feels like to walk into the fire in front of 20,000 people, he hasn’t done that yet.”
Eubank on underestimating what Benn has to offer in the ring
“I can’t not underestimate him. He hasn’t been in there with any dangerous fighters. He has a promising future in his weight class, but you can’t just put someone like Conor in with me and expect him to win. It’s physically impossible. You have the fire, you have the spirit like your old man, that’s not gonna be enough.”
Eubank on believing he only needs to be 60% to beat Benn
“Usually I go eight weeks without sex, I abstain for eight weeks. Week by week, the longer you withhold, you know, you build testosterone...I’m gonna abstain two weeks for you. Canelo, Golovkin, they get eight weeks. Saunders gets four weeks, Conor Benn gets two. Jake Paul will get one week, so you’re not the bottom of the barrel, but you’re close.”