Is Chris Eubank Jr. vs Conor Benn a ‘disgrace’?

The culmination of a generations long rivalry takes place this Saturday, April 26th, as Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn trade fists to settle what their fathers couldn’t. That is how this weekends bout has been promoted since 2022, when the fight was originally set to take place. However, the fight feels forced to some and dangerous to others.

The rivalry that isn’t theirs

To understand exactly why, one must look at the history between the two families. Chris Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn, the fathers of the two fighting this weekend, are two of British boxing’s best. Across their 87 combined fights, the two shared the ring twice. Eubank Sr. won the first in 1990 via TKO in the ninth round, taking the WBO middleweight title from Benn. The two fought again three years later, this time at super middleweight. What ensued was a hard-fought war, in which multiple rounds were a toss-up. A point deduction in the sixth round for repeated low blows may have cost Benn the win, as the bout ended in a split draw, with each fighter getting the nod on one judge’s scorecard, while the third had it even. Benn would retain the WBC title he won a year earlier, while Eubank retained the WBO title he held since ‘91.

The two would go on to defend their respective title multiple times, but didn’t face each other in the ring again, leaving many fans longing for a trilogy that never happened. Now, over two decades later, Eubank Sr. and Benn’s sons are expected to fulfil that desire. But, once you take a step back from the supposed ‘beef’, which is really their fathers quarrel being forced onto them for the sake of easy promotion, the bout stops making much sense.

Weight, Age, and PEDs

Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn were destined to clash as they were two of the best in the same division. Similarly sized opposition in their primes. The same can’t be said for this weekend’s bout. Eubank Jr. has won titles at both super middleweight and middleweight, with him currently holding the IBO belt in the latter. Benn on the other hand, has competed exclusively at welterweight. Saturday’s bout will be competed at middleweight, with Benn moving up, likely adding 13 pounds of weight to reach the limit. Apart from the danger that comes with moving up one weight class, let alone two as Benn will, moving back down becomes a challenge in itself. Benn is risking the success he’s built at the lower weight class, having won all 24 of his fights, for a feud that isn’t his to begin with. And Eubank Jr. is not only risking his middleweight title against a fighter that is seven years younger than him, but one that has a history of PED use.

Days before the first scheduled fight between the two, a statement from the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) revealed that Benn had failed two drug tests taken during the buildup for the bout, as he tested positive for clomifene. The fight was delayed before the UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) would charge and suspend Benn in March of 2023. Benn’s suspension was lifted in July of 2023, by the National Anti-Doping Panel, allowing him to compete in two fights, before it was reinstated on May 10 2024, following an appeal by UKAD and the BBBofC. On November 6th of last year, the suspension was lifted once again.

For some, the failed drug tests brought into question whether Benn should even have the opportunity to face the older fighter in Eubank Jr. But, for others, it only served to stoke the flames of the promotion. Benn maintained his innocence. Eubanks Jr. continued to question it. And in a February 2025 press conference, the tension erupted with Eubank Jr smashing an egg on Benn’s face, a reference to a 2023 report that stated Benn’s failed drug tests were related to high egg consumption. The incident led to Chris Eubank Sr. stating his son’s boxing license should be suspended. And that’s not all his father had to say about the fight.

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Sr. chimes in

“It’s against the rules, the language is against the rules, their actions, which are physical, which is outside of the ring, is against the rules,” Eubanks Sr. said on SunSport’s No Glove Lost show, adding shortly after “he has to have his license revoked.”

“He’s sending a message out there that makes a mockery of boxing.”

Sr.’s issues with the fight weren’t limited to his son’s egging of Benn.

“I’m so hurt by this, by what’s happened to (Michael Watson), and this is the situation they’re putting my son in now,” Sr. said in an interview with iFL TV, drawing a parallel between his son and former opponent Michael Watson. Watson suffered a tragic brain injury in his second fight against Eubank Sr., which was contested at super middleweight. Sr. believes Watson’s move up to a higher weight class resulted in an avoidable injury. A mistake he doesn’t want to see repeated.

“My son coming down from 168 to 160 puts his life in danger, because I know what it is to lose that type of weight.”

Sr. added that the weight will also affect the future of Benn’s career, stating that “he has had his career destroyed for one guy, because once you go up to 160, going down to fight at 147 doesn’t work.”

Sr. also touched on the promotion of the fight, specifically discussing legacy, and the supposed feud that began with his and Nigel Benn’s two bouts.

“What me and Benn did, there wasn’t any bad language, we didn’t get into a fight outside of the ring in a studio, because we had to be noble,” Sr. said.

“This is a disgrace.”

When asked about if he has expressed his discontent with the fight to his son, Sr. said his son won’t listen.

“He’s looking at only the money.”

A disgrace

The issue Sr. and boxing fans have with the fight are the sacrifices being made in favour of promotion and sales. Putting competitor’s health at risk by bringing them together in a weight class where neither are at their best, for the sake of easy promotion courtesy of their last names, can ruin careers. Look no further than Kell Brook and Gennady Golovkin’s clash in 2016 to see the effects of fighting well outside one’s weight class.

However, the fight will take place, fans will tune in to see what Sr. dubbed a “circus,” and Eubank Jr. and Benn will earn millions. Unfortunately, change may only come if the fight isn’t as engrossing as those awaiting it hope it will be. Or worse, if either fighter suffers serious, long term damage.

But then again, both Watson and Brook did, and nothing changed after that.

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