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“There wasn’t much thinking,” Connor Benn Accepts, mentally taking himself back to April 26, the Tottenham Hotspur stadium and the 18ft x 18ft ring. “It was just pure anger. I just wanted to suppress him.” Of course, referring to Ben chris eubank jrA man who was born to become Ben’s rival.
Anyway, one could make such an argument. given Deep resentment between Nigel Benn and Eubank senior in the 1990sHis sons’ own rivalry is actually a bloody feud. A bloody feud that ultimately led to a bloody, exhausting battleBecause Eubank Jr. continued his family’s dominance over Baynes by defeating Conor. It was an exhibition of true sports melodrama following slap with egg, afraid to weighAnd Eubank Sr.’s final arrivalYet, for Ben, that spring evening in the English capital could have been very different.
“It got so close, where it was like: ‘I just need one more punch,'” he explains. Independent At the Matchroom gym in Essex, reflecting on the moments when Eubank Jr looked in serious danger of humiliation, “He put his experience to good use there. I don’t give him enough credit, but he deserves it for his chin, flexibility, heart, engine. To give that kind of fight to the public, there’s only one guy who can bring it out in me: His name is Chris.”
Benn’s own admission – that he was angry against Eubank Jr., to the extent that he wasn’t smart enough in the ring – may match what you think about the 29-year-old. In fact, that now-trademark aggression comes through in sporadic moments of this interview, as the Essex boxer punctuates certain points with sarcasm. But in reality, Benn is thoughtful, articulate, polite and humble enough to admit that Eubanks Jr. is “a good fighter”.
Still, it couldn’t have been easy for Ben to say this.
And it won’t be easy for him to strike the right balance of aggression and speed on Nov. 15, when he and Eubank Jr., 35, return to tottenham for eagerly awaited rematchForget the easy references to Eubanks vs. Benn IV; It’s Eubank Jr. vs. Ben II, a rivalry that has made its way into the British boxing Knowledge.
“For me, it just wasn’t real boxing [that I had to deal with]“It was everything that had been going on for the last three years,” says Ben. It was mentally challenging. First fight in 14 months, first fight in the UK in almost three years, first fight at 160 pounds. There were a lot of unknown variables, so it wasn’t just a matter of going out there and fighting. I am happy with the way I handled it, not collapsing under pressure.”
Benn is referring to the long, grueling saga that began when he returned two adverse drug-test results, costing him the chance to box Eubank Jr. in 2022. Benn, according to various accounts, spent close to £1 million trying to prove his innocence, but he was only allowed to return to a UK ring 12 months later, with four months sidelining him from his long-awaited duel with Eubank Jr.
And as much as Ben is proud of “not caving in under the pressure,” he’s still reeling from his April debacle. He admits that even a win next Saturday won’t erase the emotions that have haunted him this year.
“Would that soften the blow a little bit? Probably not, because I still lost, so… no, definitely not. I don’t like losing in any way. Listen, we don’t set out to lose, you don’t make the sacrifices you have to make to lose.”
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Benn’s loss was tough not only because of the bragging rights it gave Eubanks Jr.; Many fans cheered Benn’s failure after believing that the 29-year-old was guilty in his drug-testing saga.
And yet, “I’ve never really been hated personally,” he says. “I have maybe two that I remember. I think someone yelled something from the crowd once, and it’s funny because there were probably 20,000 people there, and all I heard was: ‘Eggs!’ It’s funny, but that’s just life, right? “I don’t even know your name, oh my god, so why do I care what you think?”
This time, Ben is citing the misconception that he attributed his adverse findings to excessive consumption of eggs; In fact, this was an excuse given to him by the WBC, an excuse which Benn rejected.
“I’m not going to try to please anybody,” he says, although his spirited performance in April won him many fans. “If you don’t like me, does it make a difference to who I am? A lot of fighters are afraid to be who they are because they don’t want to be judged. Be who you are.” Same problem again. “Imagine living in a world where you can’t be yourself. That’s where I’m going to be.”
so who Is Connor Bain, really?
“I’m very adventurous in terms of training. I don’t cut corners. I put my heart and soul into this sport. I take care of my kids, my family needs absolutely nothing.” Another hassle. “I’m a strong man in faith, I pray every day. I don’t get involved in politics, what the public says, what the media says.” However, that hasn’t always been true, and Ben’s intense emotions during the drug-testing saga proved that. Still, “I’m not going to sit there and say: ‘Oh, I better not say this or do that, because they might not like me.’
“After all, if I say I’ll knock you unconscious and I don’t like you, I’ll knock you unconscious. Those are my intentions. If you say it’s barbaric and you don’t like it, don’t listen,” he laughs.
Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn claims that more than a million people attended the April fight with Eubank Jr., and an even bigger number will surely come with the rematch. There has already been talk of Benn’s next steps and the possibility of world titles, yet it seems Benn’s future may depend on big-name match-ups rather than championship gold.
“There’s definitely more satisfaction in it,” Ben says of being an entertainer rather than a champion. “At the end of the day, when people come to see me fight, I want them to say: ‘Cororer, yes, I want to see another fight.’ This means more to me than anything else. You have detractors, you have supporters; After all, are you all paying?”
Then there’s another question – a fascinating rhetoric. “If you win a boring fight, have you really won?” No matter what Ben thinks deep down, his rematch with Eubank Jr. is a must-win by standard definition.