Benn and Eubank Jr are set to face off in a huge all-British battle at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, April 26. And, ahead of the bout, Benn Sr. spoke with Vision4Sport, where premium tickets for the fight are available for purchase on their website, and said that Conor is heading into the bout ready to take his frustrations out on Eubank.
“He’s on a mission,” he said.
“There’s a lot of things Junior has said about Conor – things that were untrue. And Conor holds on to that.
“You don’t need to add any fuel to this fire – it’s already burning. It’s not about hate. Let’s get that straight. But Conor wants to destroy him.”
It’s a fight the British public have been clamouring for, with the two rivals set to go head-to-head. Benn will be the smaller man on fight night, but his father said that the slight discrepancy in fight night weight shouldn’t affect the outcome.
“You know what? I’m not worried one bit – not in the slightest. I know my son’s capabilities,” he said.
“People act like he’s going up against a Canelo or a Crawford – it’s not that. We’re going to see a powerful destroyer in that ring.
“How it goes depends on what my son wants to do. Does he want to spark him out, or does he want to play with him? I don’t know. And I really mean that.
“I’m not disregarding Chris — he’s got a puncher’s chance. He’ll be in the best shape of his life. But he won’t have anything to match Conor — I know that.”
Part of the mystique around the matchup is the history behind the Benn-Eubank rivalry. The two fathers had one of the biggest rivalries in British boxing history back in the 1990s as they battled for super middleweight supremacy during a golden period for British boxing.
And now, with the sport enjoying another boom in the UK, their respective sons are set to head to head in a colossal matchup at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and it’s captured the imagination of the boxing fanbase in the UK.
“It’s got history. It’s got mileage in it. We never thought this would happen,” said Benn.
“The Benn vs. Eubank fight – oh my gosh! It’s unbelievable. A lot of people are going to come out because of what me and Eubank Sr. did.
“Can you imagine if this was just Eubank Jr. vs. someone else or Conor vs. someone else? They’d probably get about half a million each. But this fight – this fight is different.”
It also prompted Benn to wonder aloud how big his original rivalry with Eubank would have been had it played out in today’s climate.
“We had about 18.5 million watching in the UK. Can you imagine if we were on pay-per-view? Nearly half a billion around the world!” he said.
“It was just big because of what me and Chris did. You can’t really compare it. It was a whole different atmosphere. But a lot of people are coming to see this fight because of the rivalry we had. People will just turn up to see where it’s going to go.
“We need Chris. He’s a character. Even though he’s hard work, he’s a character. We need someone like him in the corner. I don’t know what relationship he has with his son, but I pray it’s a good one. At the end of the day, he lost one of his boys already. I wouldn’t like to see him fall out with another. I just hope they repair the damage.
“Eubank Jr. is just like his dad as well. Watching the first press conference, it was like deja-vu. Chris Jr. was sitting there, calm, composed, just like his dad. Meanwhile, Conor was fired up, just like me.”
