Conor Benn reframes His Defeat to Chris Eubank Jr. as a Confirmation of proving himself at 160

Conor Benn says he proved himself in the 160-lb division with his performance in his loss to middleweight contender Chris Eubank Jr. earlier this year on April 26th. The two will meet in a rematch on November 15 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in Tottenham, London, 58 days from now. The event will be shown on DAZN PPV.

Proving Worth at 160 Pounds

While Benn did prove himself to a certain extent at 160 in his performance last April, it wasn’t a good enough performance to suggest that he could exist among the elite or A-level fighters in the middleweight division. Fans don’t view Eubank Jr. as being among them. He’s seen as a career underachiever.

The top middleweights

• Janibek Alimkhanuly
• Yoenli Hernandez
• Calos Adames
• Erislandy Lara
• Denzel Bentley

Conor, 28, remains bitter about his loss, trying to salvage a positive from it to boost his confidence going into the second fight. He was competitive early, but then fell apart as the contest wore on.

Inside Game Deficiencies

Benn (23-1, 14 KOs) gave Eubank Jr. (35-3, 25 KOs) a tough fight in the early rounds with his power and explosive punching. Eubank Jr. quickly figured him out, recognizing that he’s a potshot fighter who loads up on single shots, and outworked him with combinations on the inside to win a 12-round unanimous decision by the scores 116-112, 116-112, and 116-112.

The fight showed that Benn has no inside game and can only punch with power from medium to long range. That’s a problem that may persist in the rematch and when Conor returns to the 147-lb division.

Middleweight Division’s Weakness

The competitiveness of the fight showed two things:

1. The middleweight division is weak: For Benn to jump up two weight classes from 147 to 160 and remain competitive against the top five contenders highlights the weakened condition of the division. I believe there are fighters that would have a disaster for Benn to fight, such as Yoenli Hernandez, Janibek Alimkhanuly, and Carlos Adames; those are the cream of the crop. Benn has enough talent to be a contender in this division if he wanted, but his chances of ever winning a world title would be slim.
2. Eubank Jr. is flawed: He was exposed by the novice Benn, and he was forced to fight hard in a grueling 12-round fight to pull out a unanimous decision. I don’t believe Benn would have lasted more than four or five rounds against the elite in the middleweight division, Yoenli Hernandez, Adames, Erislandy Lara, or Janibek.

The Financial Incentive

“A lot of people are going, ‘You’re just cashing out. You’re out of your depth.’ He’s got a good resume in comparison to mine. I was a prospect/contender, and I’ve proved my worth at 160,” said Conor Benn to Ring Magazine, arguing that his previous performance against the then 35-year-old middleweight contender Chris Eubank Jr. proved his worth in the 160-lb division last April.

According to Sporting News, Conor Benn’s purse for his first fight against Eubank Jr. was $10.5 million on April 26. For the rematch on November 15, Benn is reportedly set to receive $10.5 million again. That’s massive money for a fighter who has never won a world title or fought a contender during his nine-year career before his loss to Eubank Jr.

Conor would look silly if he tried to convince fans that he’s not fighting Eubank Jr. again for the money. That has to be a central point in why Benn is taking the fight again, because he clearly lost the last fight and absorbed a lot of punishment.

Return to 147 Pounds

“So, I’m just excited to get back down to 147 after this fight and do more damage at the weight I should be fighting at,” said Benn.

Punch stats

• Eubank Jr.: 367 of 912 punches for 40.2%
• Benn: 215 of 593 for 35.3%