Inside the mind games of Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn’s grudge match

Exclusive: Eddie Hearn believes there could be more drama this week in the build-up to the April 26 clash

Over three decades since their fathers first went toe-to-toe, the roles of psychological warfare have been reversed as Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn finally meet in the ring to settle their grudge match this weekend.

During a press conference in Manchester it was Chris Eubank Jr who tried to get in opponent Conor Benn’s head, inciting chaos on stage as he slapped Benn around the face with an egg.

The reference to the two drugs test Benn failed in 2022 shows how their rivalry has evolved into something much deeper, further fuelling the intensity of their upcoming showdown.

And promoter Eddie Hearn is expecting the mind games to continue in the final days ahead of the fight: “I think we’ll probably see Eubank trying to wind Benn up to make mistakes in there.”

Barry Hearn, Eddie’s father, was the promoter for Chris Eubank Sr and the Matchroom chairman reflected on how he grew up going all around the world to his fights, even spending time around him at his home.

“My dad and Chris Eubank [Sr] were very close, my dad was best man at his wedding,” Hearn said. “I’ve not really got a bad word I could say about him, my dad would never say a bad word about him either.”

But Hearn recently revealed to the media that he was actually a secret fan of Benn when he was growing up and he believes Conor has inherited Nigel’s ability to entertain in the ring, as opposed to Eubank Jr.

“Nigel was just the most explosive, exciting fighter you could ever watch,” Hearn said. “If you go and watch the Iran Barkley fight, a one round fight, you’ll have never seen anything like it. He was thrilling to watch. That’s the same with Conor.

Conor Benn (left) with his promoter Eddie Hearn (Getty Images)

“Eubank Jr is not great to watch outside of the ring walks and the press conferences his performances aren’t that exciting. Conor is the opposite, just ferocious and exciting from the first moment. He’ll make Eubank fight next week, it’s going to dangerous but he will make him fight.”

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Hearn further compared Conor to his father. “You can see a lot of similarities, not just in the way that Conor fights but in the way he’s just pure emotion. But, then he can flip out just like that - just like his dad.

“You’re never going to be able to take the emotion out of Conor, he needs to keep his head in there and that’s difficult because of everything that he’s been through. Plus, he wants to take Eubank’s head off.

“He’s just got try and stay calm, as calm as he can in that moment. We don’t want him to lose that ferociousness because that’s also what makes him so dangerous, same with his dad.”

Left to right: Chris Eubank Jr, Nigel Benn and Conor Benn (Getty Images)

While both boxers have fought in and around the super-middleweight division, Eubank is more firmly established in that weight class, whereas Benn is still primarily a welterweight. The upcoming fight will be contested at 11st 6lb (160lb), three pounds heavier than the agreed weight for their cancelled fight in October 2022.

The challenge of moving up in weight adds an extra layer of complexity to this already intense rivalry, and both fighters are focused on proving themselves in this high-stakes showdown.

According to Hearn, this weight shift benefits Eubank, as he will be fighting at his natural weight, which puts him in a much better position than before.

“Conor is facing a much bigger guy, it’s a very dangerous fight, as the fight goes on generally size will show so we want to get in there and do the job early,” Hearn said. “I think Conor will start very fast and I believe he will get him out of there inside six rounds.”

“I think this is his chance really, and I’ve not said this before, to put him up there to talk about his father and those kind of levels.”

British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn at Eubank vs Benn press conference (Getty Images)

“This is a significant moment for Conor, to beat a world class middleweight at Tottenham Hotspur, in front of 65,000 people and kind of emerge from the shadows of his father - if you like.

"That’s a big motivating factor for a son who has had that dream for a long time. There are so many different motivating factors for Conor here, he’s bringing a lot of pain into this fight from the last couple of years and you’ve seen that in training camp.

Saturday is set to bring one of the biggest fights of the year, and as the long awaited night approaches Hearn considered how it translates generationally: “Who would have ever thought that Eubank’s son would be fighting Benn’s son, not just as two blokes that have been to a couple of boxercise classes but as two world ranked fighters.

“They’re fighting in front of 65,000 and it’s a massive moment for the dads as much as it is for their sons.”

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