Gareth Freeman offers his best bets for Saturday night's huge grudge match, which takes place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn will finally meet in a highly-anticipated grudge match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night.
The bout was supposed to happen in 2022, but a suspension handed out to Benn delayed the contest. Eubank has fought three times since, suffering a shock loss to Liam Smith before avenging that defeat before a seventh-round win over Kamil Szeremeta, leaving him with a 34-3 record.
Benn is 23-0 and he had one fight in 2023 and one last year, picking up points victories over Rodolfo Orozco and Peter Dobson.
Here are our boxing betting tips for Saturday’s big fight.
Selections
Chris Eubank Jr. to win /
Chris Eubank Jr. to win in rounds 7-12 /
Eubank Jr. has all the advantages
Conor Benn has spent the majority of his career fight at welterweight and the jump up to 160lbs could be a step too far for The Destroyer.
Making the move up to middleweight from Benn’s weight class is a big step, particularly when he’s going straight into a bout with a more experienced fighter, and his aggressive style could work against him here.
Eubank Jr. is a better technician than he is generally given credit for and his jab is a reliable weapon. The 35-year-old should be able to land shots on Benn as the smaller man tries to close the distance, and as the fight progresses, his power should prove decisive.
When fighters do move up the divisions, the boxers with the better movement and defensive skills are the ones who tend to be successful, but Benn is more in the mould of his father, Nigel, who would happily stand and trade and overpower his opponents.
Eubank Jr. isn’t necessarily a huge puncher for a middleweight, but he still carries enough power to be dangerous (25 of his 34 wins have come inside the distance) and if he is able to come through an expected early period of pressure from the younger and fresher Benn, he should be able to avoid being on the wrong end of an upset.
The second half could be Eubank’s time
Eubank Jr.’s size and power advantages could be the key factors, but the early stages of this contest should be incredibly competitive.
Benn will probably be open to standing and trading at various stages but he will have to try and use speed and movement in the early rounds, moving in and out of distance as best he can.
It may take a few rounds for both fighters to work each other out here as well, as neither has been in a test like this one previously, but as the rounds progress, there is every chance that Eubank’s power will begin to tell.
Benn has never been beaten and he’s only really been in trouble once, back in 2017, when he was floored twice by Cedrick Peynaud before recovering to win on points. Benn should be able to avoid Eubank Jr.’s best shots early on and can keep this competitive, but ultimately the bigger man’s power could be crucial and Eubank Jr. can get a win over the line in the second half of the fight without needing the scorecards.
