In north London on Saturday night, people turned up for a soap opera and, of all things, a fight broke out. Chris Eubank Jr’s unanimous-decision victory over Conor Benn gradually developed into a contest so action-packed that it was tempting to completely overlook the tawdry buildup or the fact that it was only their famous surnames that had guaranteed both boxers career-high paydays.
During a scrappy start, you could be forgiven for thinking the fight had perhaps peaked two hours and five minutes before the first bell. That was the moment when Chris Eubank Jr arrived at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a smirk and – perhaps more notably – his supposedly estranged father by his side in a suitably ostentatious sheepskin jacket, looking like a 1980s football commentator who had won the pools.
Suitably measured reactions came from Johnny Nelson, the former world champion and Sky pundit, who said: “Seeing these pictures put a lump in my throat,” then promptly changed his pick from Benn to Eubank Jr based purely on his dad swanning out of a posh car with his son. The Dazn commentator Adam Smith was equally subdued: “He’s here! And the crowd are going wild – father and son reunited, simply the best. And that is the picture of the year so far.”
It was left to Billy Joe Saunders, an old Eubank Jr foe and someone who is rarely accused of being the voice of reason, to inject some common sense. Talking to Nigel Benn in the hour before the fight, he hit the nail squarely on the head: “Everyone is saying: oh look, Eubank Sr is here – you’re not in the ring; neither is he. It’s the sons fighting, not the dads – they did that years ago … It doesn’t matter if he’s got 10 Seniors here with him.”
Yet at least both dads being ringside laid bare what the contest was all about: for all the talk of Conor and Chris Jr forging their own legacy, this was built almost entirely on their fathers’ work more than three decades ago. Both accompanied their sons to the ring and even got an introduction from Michael Buffer, which doesn’t tend to happen for ringside parents.
Eubank Sr even went to hug and chat to a visibly uninterested Conor, which was unusual – and indeed understandably unwelcome – minutes before the fight began. He got a heartier embrace from Nigel, the two having buried the hatchet long ago.
Alongside the famous fathers in the best seats sat Gordon Ramsay, who has spent more time ringside than he has kitchenside over the past 20 years, Idris Elba and a host of Premier League footballers, including Declan Rice and Marcus Rashford. Proof that for all the fact that fight aficionados might roll their eyes at the nepotism that led to this contest, not to mention the two positive drug tests that caused its postponement yet somehow increased its hype, the fight had definitely crossed over into the mainstream.
But for all the cynicism, the fight itself turned into a barnburner. It began slowly, Benn all effort and not much finesse, having a particularly strong round three where he wobbled his larger foe. Eubank Jr, the more proven, experienced competitor, took over after that and almost certainly won the next three. Then, after halfway, a combination of Benn’s indefatigable endeavour and Eubank Jr’s exhaustion yet refusal to give ground led to a blistering firefight with both men trading haymakers.
If professional boxing is a test of will and skill, there was, perhaps, a so-so supply of the latter but a gigantic supply of the former. As the crowd roared and the smaller Benn winged in an endless supply of blows, his trainer Tony Sims – a voice of wisdom in a maelstrom of madness – gave his charge the right advice of making room for his punches. “He’s leaning all over you, take a step back and let your hands go,” Sims implored. Yet Benn’s lack of in-ring smarts meant he was unwilling or unable to follow such sage instructions.
Instead it was Eubank Jr who – yes, akin to his father in his prime – somehow found a second tank of petrol when it appeared the first had run dry. He willed himself through the last two rounds, winning them clearly to seal a decision that was deserved, even if the three 116-112 scorecards did not quite reflect the 28-year-old Benn’s effort.
Afterwards, Eddie Hearn, Benn’s promoter and not a man to turn down a hyperbole when he has a shot at it, assessed: “Unbelievable! I couldn’t split them at the end. I thought Conor Benn was winning the fight, I thought he lost the last two rounds … But forget that, just unbelievable respect for both men. I could not be prouder of Conor Benn – for what he’s been though [two positive drug tests, never explained to the public] and the heart he’s shown in the ring tonight.”
At least everyone could agree on the latter. Both boxers came to the ring in trunks that were exact replicas of their fathers’ from their first war in 1990. But if both came in cosplaying as their dads, both left having proven their guts and toughness beyond any doubt. Boxing is a curious sport where the best events sometimes fall flat and those mired in controversy sometimes show us something noble. For all that was ugly, worrying and distasteful about why this fight occurred, few could deny the pure courage on show inside the ring.
