On Saturday night, Conor Benn beat Chris Eubank Jr by unanimous decision at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

This fight was the rematch between the pair in a 35-year family feud.

The Fathers

Back in 1985, both Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr were fighting at middleweight and super middleweight, competing at the highest levels, becoming rivals. Nigel Benn had won his first 22 fights by knockout as Eubank began to call him out. Both men insisted they would knock the other out.

The first of four family fights came on the 18^th November 1990 when Eubank Sr beat Nigel Benn, Conor Benn’s father, in Birmingham. Before the fight, Eubank’s walkout to “Simply the best” turned into a nightmare ring walk as the music suddenly stopped. The music was sabotaged by Benn and his entourage. The fight ended with five seconds left of round nine and Nigel Benn on the floor. 

This fight was followed up three years later at Old Trafford by a slightly underwhelming battle at Old Trafford in comparison to the one in Birmingham. This battle ended in a draw as the final scores were 115-113 Eubank, 114-113 Benn and 114-114.

35 years later and the family feud was reignited.

The Sons Battle

Both Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn were big on the boxing scene, though Eubank Jr was fighting at two weight divisions above Benn. A fight between the pair therefore had its difficulties as both would have to adjust their weight- Eubank dropping his weight and Benn increasing his.

The lead up to this fight between the sons was not without its drama. Of course a lot of this was between the fighters, but again the fathers were involved too.

Chris Eubank Sr had publicly announced his concerns over the weight changes the fighters had to make, calling out the authorities for putting on the fight due to the potential dangers. Eubank Sr had said he was not going to turn up to watch his son fight.

Though this decision was not entirely due to the fight happening, but his son’s conduct before the fight as well. In a press conference, Eubank Jr had thrown an egg against Benn’s face, increasing the tensions. Eubank Sr called these events a ‘circus’.

Nigel Benn asked Eubank Sr to “come and back your son” and Eubank Sr did exactly that. He did unexpectedly turn up to the fight, adding to the drama.

The fight itself had to be rescheduled after Benn failed a drugs test, which was eventually cleared.

The first fight ended in a win for Eubank Jr by unanimous decision in a convincing win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

After the fight, the drama ensued as Eubank Sr claimed that the ambulance taking his son to the hospital was blocked by Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn. This again increased the tensions between the camps. This accusation has led to Hearn saying he will sue Eubank Sr for saying something that could harm his reputation and career.

Overall, the build-up to the second fight was much less controversial.

However, on TalkSport, Eubank Sr continued to express his dismay at the dangers the weight changes could cause to the bodies of the boxers in the long-term.

The second fight, which was described as not a world class fight, between the pair resulted in a first win for the Benn’s over the Eubank’s. Eubank walked on with rapper 50 cent and left with £10 million though it was Benn who won by unanimous decision and thoroughly dominated the fight, knocking Eubank Jr down twice in the final round.

So What’s Next for Eubank Jr and Conor Benn?

For Eubank Jr, some believe it is the end of the road in a fight where he was ‘so bad’ and like a ‘ferrari with no engine’. At 36, some believe Eubank’s age has caught up to him and that he looked like he did not want to be there. There were moments where he appeared startled when he got hit, and after the fight, Eubank Jr said that Benn was ‘powerful’ and that the night was all about him.

For Eubank Jr, he said that he has been ‘through hell and back to make it here’ and that he thought that regardless of issues he’s been dealing with, he would go out there and win.

Eubank also has twins coming and he acknowledged before the fight that boxing is a dangerous sport and he wants to be there for his kids as they grow.

When asked about his rival, Conor Benn said: “He’s got more important things to worry about. He’s won in life getting his twin boys. If I was him I would look at boxing, see what reasons he’s boxing for, because ultimately he’s a dad of two now. That’s always a priority.”

Some have also said that Eubank needs a year off, but this would see him at 37/38 years of age, which itself could prove to be an issue.

Even if he does continue to box, it feels like Eubank does not have many more fights left in him.

On the contrary, Conor Benn, aged 29, reiterated his willingness to drop back down to welterweight and take on the champions of the divisions, whom he called out before and after the fight. He has stated his ambition is to win the WBC title.

However, the dropping of weight will not be easy, say senior boxing figures of the media as the body will have to adjust yet again. Spencer Oliver on TalkSport reiterated that building up his weight to 160 and dropping back down, reducing his muscle mass would affect his punch resistance and strength.

Conor Benn dismissed claims that there would be a third fight as he said: “This is the end of the Benn-Eubank saga. Over. Chris has twins coming and I have my boy, but this ends here.

“We should just let it lie now,” he added.

Though Eubank straight after the fight did not immediately dismiss a trilogy as he said, albeit unconvincingly: “Who knows? It’s 1-1.”

Regardless of the route the pair take now, which some expect to contradict each other enormously, the second fight between the sons ended in a very respectful manner.

Whilst they may never like each other entirely, the family feud seems to have been settled.