Conor Benn does not believe Chris Eubank Jr can overturn his defeat against Liam Smith when the middleweight pair return to the ring in a rematch this upcoming Saturday (September 2).
Former WBO world super-welterweight champion Smith would halt Eubank Jr inside four rounds in a dominating and clinical fashion in January of this year, inflicting two knockdowns in the process. Despite the defeat, Eubank Jr enforced a contractual rematch clause to face Smith once again at the AO Arena in Manchester.
A win for Eubank would benefit Benn as the pair were due to face each other in October 2022. However, the contest and, subsequently, the event was pulled due to Benn failing an anti-doping test for the substance Clomiphene.
In an interview with Boxing Social, Benn conceded that if Eubank Jr was to lose, the appeal and prospect of a fight happening with Eubank Jr could start to lose its attraction and appeal.
“I haven’t seen no hype around it or build up or anything,” Benn said of Smith-Eubank II in an interview with Boxing Social. “But I can’t see Eubank getting past Smith. As much as I love Eubank to win, of course, as we’ve got our own feud that we need to settle, but the damage that has been done is done. And you know it’s only going one way.”
Conor maintained his innocence throughout his doping issues, which had seen him relinquish his BBBofC licence and be suspended for his testing issues. However, Benn was cleared to resume his career by the National Anti-Doping Panel recently and had been out of action following his win against Chris Van Heerden in April 2022. Benn’s could possibly be delayed further due to UKAD & the BBBofC appealing the decision of the NADP allowing Benn to resume his career.
Benn’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has always maintained that a contest between Benn-Eubank Jr interests him, Benn and Eubank Jr, as realistically, it is one of the more financially lucrative fights each fighter could have at this stage of their respective careers.
“Listen, if the public want it, the public can get it,” Benn said. “All this talk about me shying away from fighters, listen I’m willing to go up to 160 to fight this man. So, what more can you want from a fighter willing to go up to 160 to entertain the fans. My natural weight is 147. Listen, if the public want it, the public can get it. That’s it. If it’s in demand I will give it to the public. If they want it, they can have it.”
