Key events
Benn is asked what’s next for him if a third fight with Eubank Jr doesn’t come to pass. He’s ready for the question, saying he’ll move back down to welterweight in search of a world championship at 147lb.
“I fancy [Mario] Barrios for the WBC world title,” he says. “Ryan Garcia, Rolly Romero, Devin Haney: all of them Yanks can get it, any day of the week and twice on Sundays.”
Nigel Benn, Conor’s beaming father, is then asked to comment on the fight he just witnessed.
“I’m so proud of what he done tonight,” the former middleweight and super-middleweight champion says. “He stuck to his game plan. He worked the body. I can’t fault what he done. Unanimous decision. He done what you had to do. Now you can drop back down to 147, bring the WBC, get rid of the Intercontinental stuff. Grab the real belt.”
Conor admits he “felt the pressure” to honor the family name.
“That’s all that matters,” he says. “I come in here tonight and all that matters is my dad, me, my old man, the family feud. There was a lot of pressure on me to settle it tonight. I felt the pressure. Not from the world, not from anyone, but I just wanted to do the family name proud. And I’ve completed it, mate. I’ve completed it, mate, forget everything else. It will forever be in history.”
“I want to thank everyone who’s come out tonight,” a triumphant Benn says. “It’s been some journey, and I feel like this is the end of the Benn-Eubank saga. Done and finished. It’s over. I know Chris has twins coming and I’ve got my boy, but this ends here.”
Asked what felt differently in the ring tonight for him, Benn is to the point: “Well, everyone’s saying I can’t box. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. How about that?”
He adds: “This wouldn’t have been what it was without Chris and our dads, most of all. this is generational. This has never been done before in history. So credit to Chris. Credit to Chris, man. That’s all I gotta say. Thank you for sharing the ring with me. Not bad for two silver-spoon kids, eh?”
“I’ve been through I’ve been through hell and back to get to this night,” Eubank Jr says. “It is what it is. I tried my best. And listen, the kid fought hard. He fought tough. He’s got power, this kid. He was bigger on me on the scales! I don’t know how you did it. I’m looking at him. But listen, we put on a show. And yeah, Conor Benn was the best man tonight. So congratulations to him.”
He’s asked what’s next. The score is one apiece. Could a third fight be in the works?
“It’s one-one. I’ve got to go away and deal with some of the things I’ve been dealing with over the last couple of months. And who knows, whether we will see something new with me and him. Maybe we won’t. But for right now, it’s all about this man. This is his night.”
A quick sift through the reader reactions. The critics were not kind. Here’s Sean Duffy’s take:
This fight for me summarises everything wrong with boxing these days. There’s no reason for this fight to take place other than people think and have fleeced the public for their cash.
This isn’t a good fight, it means nothing and neither fighter has, or will make an impact on world level.
Next, we look forward to one of the Pauls v Joshua.
Oh the joy, and I’ve watched boxing across the world for 27 years
Conor Benn wins by UD 12!
And there it is. Unsurprisingly, Benn has win a unanimous decision. The official scores were 119-107, 116-110 and 118-108.
Eubank Jr down twice in round 12!
Round 12
Benn drops Eubank with a left-right combo, the right detonating on the temple. It’s a heavy knockdown. Eubank beats the count but he looks at sea. There’s about a minute to go and Eubank is in big trouble. Benn rushes in to try to close the show, throwing flurries of punches with Eubank in full retreat. And Eubank is down again! He’s to his feet quickly and it looks like he’s going to be saved by the bell. And there’s the bell. That’s it. This would have been a wide points win for Benn even betfor the knockdowns. The threequel no one wanted incoming?
Guardian’s unofficial score: Eubank Jr 7-10 Benn (Eubank Jr 106-120 Benn)
Round 11
Another straightforward round for Benn, who is three minutes from a career-best win. Meanwhile, Oscar De La Hoya has entered the chat.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Eubank Jr 9-10 Benn (Eubank Jr 99-110 Benn)
Let me give you a little tutorial on boxing since you all don’t know shit. Eubanks never had a chance due weight drain.
— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) November 15, 2025
Round 10
Benn is coming on aggressively, throwing punches in bunches in search of the knockout. Blood is flowing from Eubank’s nose after an overhand right from Benn lands clean. But the story is Eubank’s vastly diminished form, almost certainly due to the rehydration clause. He is landing just six punches per round tonight after connecting with 31 per frame in their first meeting.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Eubank Jr 9-10 Benn (Eubank Jr 90-100 Benn)
Round 9
Another easy round for Benn. The flashes for Eubank are too few and far between for Eubank, whose body language is giving like he’d rather be anywhere but here. His trainer, BoMac McIntyre, is telling him that he needs to win every remaining round. Realistically, he needs a knockout.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Eubank Jr 9-10 Benn (Eubank Jr 81-90 Benn)
Round 8
More of the same for Benn. Right hand leads. Right crosses. Jabbing beautifully. Hard to find even a pity round for Eubank, who looked up at the clock twice during the eighth.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Eubank Jr 9-10 Benn (Eubank Jr 72-80 Benn)
Round 7
Benn sharper on the attack and in defense, lighter on his feet and quicker to the punch. He’s throwing and landing more. Benn lands a heavy right hand near the end of the round that sends the crowd into an uproar, then jaws derisively at Eubank after the bell. Benn has landed nearly three times as many power shots (45) as Eubank (18) through seven rounds, according to Compubox’s punch statistics.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Eubank Jr 9-10 Benn (Eubank Jr 63-70 Benn)
Round 6
Another round for Benn. One-way traffic. Eubank is very slow back to his stool. Could a late stoppage be in the cards?
Guardian’s unofficial score: Eubank Jr 9-10 Benn (Eubank Jr 54-60 Benn)
Round 5
There nothing in Eubank’s legs. It’s hard to see how he’ll be able to turn this one around. Benn is scoring at will using the jab and combination punching, taking full advantage of the visibly weight-drained Eubank.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Eubank Jr 9-10 Benn (Eubank Jr 45-50 Benn)
Round 4
Benn is total control through four rounds. He’s working beautifully behind the jab and controlling the distance while Eubank simply looks slower and off rhythm. Not a particularly difficult fight to score.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Eubank Jr 9-10 Benn (Eubank Jr 36-40 Benn)
Round 3
Eubank keeps probing for openings that Benn’s jittery movement aren’t allowing. More excellent ringcraft from Benn, who is landing punches in combination from inside and at distance. Eubank lands a flush counter left hook near the end of the round, but it’s not enough to erase Benn’s work. Truthfully, Eubank looks drained and compromised, almost certainly by the rehydration clause, which is going to be the center of conversation if Benn runs away with this fight as it looks like he might.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Eubank Jr 9-10 Benn (Eubank Jr 27-30 Benn)
Round 2
Eubank is getting his activity going early in the second. Benn wrestles Eubank to the floor and referee Kevin Parker calls time, giving both men a word of warning to keep things clean. Eubank is again conceding the center of the ring to his foe, perhaps a bit too easily. Benn looks sharper and quicker to the punch, while Eubank looks oddly subdued in the counterpuncher’s role.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Eubank Jr 9-10 Benn (Eubank Jr 18-20 Benn)
Round 1
Benn immediately takes the center of the ring, agrressive on the front foot. Benn finally lands a left jab and a good body shot. Benn lands a short right hook, the hand speed telling early. Eubank checks Benn’s progress with a crisp right hand. The crowd is clearly in Benn’s corner and they’ve liked what they’ve seen thus far. Easy round to score for Benn, who threw and landed more while Eubank mostly observed from the back foot.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Eubank Jr 9-10 Benn (Eubank Jr 9-10 Benn)
Buffer has just finished making the fighter announcements as 50 Cent remained in Eubank’s corner. A crackling atmosphere at Tottenham’s home ground. The waiting is over. The final instructions have been given by the referee, the seconds are out and we’ll pick it up with round-by-round coverage from here!
Donald McRae
Eubank Jr is now trained by Brian “BoMac” McIntyre who is always in the corner of Terence Crawford, the best fighter in the world by some distance. And so there was a little zing of excitement among the Crawford connoisseurs when the mighty Bud appeared on the giant screen as he moved around Eubank’s dressing room. He shook hands warmly with a beaming Eubank Sr before stopping to share a few words with Junior. Those moments will matter far more to the Eubank camp than the fact that Benn received a bigger cheer than they did when he was seen on the same big screen having his hands wrapped. Personally, I think that’s 1-0 so far to Eubank Jr/Crawford over Benn/the crowd.
And here finally is Chris Eubank Jr. He emerges from the tunnel sporting a giganic white fur coat, also joined by his celebrated dad. Dr Dre’s Still DRE blasts from the soundsystem before he’s joined at the end of the stadium by rapper 50 Cent, who performs parts of Many Men (Wish Death), Wanksta and I’ll Whip Ya Head Boy during their measured route to the ring.
The fighters are making their entrances. Conor Benn is first, making the long walk to the ring in a white robe with blue trim flanked by his famous father. His song choice is a medley of the Fugees’ Ready or Not and Phil Collins’ In the Air Tonight, the latter backed by a small drumline performing on one end of the stadium.
Benn makes it into the ring and now there’s a bit of a delay. A bit of late gamesmanship from Eubank Jr?
Sweet Caroline is blasting from the stadium soundsystem. That means the final countdown to the main event is officially on. The fighters for the main event should be making their entrances any moment now. Thierry Henry, Pierce Brosnan, Rod Stewart, Jason Statham, Emma Bunton and Dizzee Rascal among the celebs at ringside.
“First and foremost, shout out to Ekow and his team,” Catterall says. “Good people, good team. Ekow’s a solid fighter. And he pushed me, but I did what I needed to do in there tonight.”
On his parnership with new trainer Bozy Ennis: “We’ve been working on things, having the confidence to let the hands go. This was the second fight at welterweight. I can still punch but it’s just having the confidence to keep throwing the hands and let them go. So I’m feeling good and I’m excited for what’s next.”
That, according to promoter Eddie Hearn, will likely be a mandatory shot at the WBO welterweight title against the winner of next week’s fight between Brian Norman in Devin Haney in Riyadh.
Jack Catterall has just delivered a devastating statement, stopping Ekow Essuman in the 11th round after a fierce combination sent Essuman out of the ring and left him down on the apron. With new trainer Bozy Ennis in his corner, Catterall looked sharper and more crowd-pleasing than ever, asserting himself as a emerging force at welterweight. Concern remained for Essuman’s condition, but the TKO firmly put the division on notice.
Donald McRae
Torrential rain lashed across north London yesterday and the mood tonight at the Tottenham Hotspur would have been very different if we had to face more of the same. But it’s crisp and, so far, mercifully dry. The stadium is about 90% full but a large number of tickets were easily available, and at a marked-down price, earlier today. Thousands of freebies were also dished out this week – which indicates that demand for Benn-Eubank Jr II needed a little boost.
Benn and Eubank Jr should make their ringwalks around 10pm. The undercard is rattling along.
Richard Riakporhe calls himself the Midnight Train but, just before 7pm, the former cruiserweight looked like a hurtling freight train as he obliterated Tommy Welch’s unbeaten record. He knocked down Welch heavily three times in round two before the referee waved an end to a mismatch that had been expected to be briefly competitive. Welch had warned Riakporhe that he would send him on the last bus home – perhaps the least successful boxing prophecy of 2025. This was only Riakphorhe’s second fight as a heavyweight but he looked impressive – even if the limited Welch had never faced any opponent of note while compiling a 16-0 record.
Riakporhe is also a model, a friend of Madonna’s and a fighter with a compelling backstory. The Midnight Train is rolling but he needs a proper test from a tough and skilful heavyweight.
Adam Azim then cruised to victory against Kurt Scoby – the stocky and muscular American who had been so mouthy throughout fight week. But he was utterly outclassed by the gifted Azim who won every round before he dropped and then stopped Scoby in the last minute of the fight to extend his record to 14-0 in the super-lightweight ranks. Next year should be a big one for Azim.
The final fight of the undercard between Jack Catterall and Ekow Essuman is underway …
Preamble
Well, here we go. Thirty-five years after their fathers first carved the Benn–Eubank rivalry into British sporting lore, the sons return tonight to close the book. Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn meet again at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a rematch pregnant with history, heavy with pride, and somehow even more intriguing the second time around. The first chapter in April was so absorbing that this return was probably inevitable. The only surprise is how composed both men have been in the week leading into it.
The weigh-in on Friday at York Hall – so often a final flare-up before hostilities – elapsed without theatrics. Both fighters cruised under the 160lb middleweight limit, Eubank Jr at 159.1lb and Benn a couple of ounces heavier. No fines, no late-night sauna dashes, none of the confusion that left Eubank paying hundreds of thousands in overage penalties seven months ago. Benn famously spent that fee on a Rolls-Royce. This time, Eubank arrived lean, calm and insistent he wouldn’t be handing over a penny.
The fathers, who nearly stole the show at Thursday’s press conference with their still-combustible chemistry, stayed away from the scales. Their brief reunion – part antipathy, part nostalgia – reminded everyone just how long this rivalry has been fermenting. But tonight is not about them. It’s about the sons, whose own feud has delivered cancelled fights, a failed drug test, a slapped egg and, at last, a bruising first contest that Eubank swept on all three cards. Even then, amid the elbows and the stubbornness, something softened between them. April ended with a handshake and a hint of respect.
Don’t be fooled. The respect only stretches so far. Eubank has spent the week promising a “fight of the decade contender”, pointing to the first bout as evidence that their styles can’t help but combust. Benn has bristled at the suggestion that he was too emotional in April and insists the adjustments are his to make. He won only a single round unanimously last time; that has been the focal point of Team Benn’s review. Higher tempo. Smarter entrances. A more measured chase of the right hand. More work to the body. Anything to prevent Eubank from settling into the cultured, economical rhythm that carried him through their first encounter.
There are tactical subplots everywhere. The rehydration clause – a maximum of 10lb gained by Saturday morning – remains contentious, particularly given Eubank’s confession he ended up in hospital with dehydration after the last fight. Benn, now campaigning two divisions above his natural weight, argues the clause is essential for safety. Eubank shrugs it off and insists he simply misjudged his cut last time. Still, every seasoned observer will be watching closely for early signs of heaviness in the legs or delayed reactions.
The addition of Brian “BoMac” McIntyre in Eubank’s corner – head trainer of Terence Crawford – adds another layer. Benn counters with youthful momentum and the belief he can force errors if he keeps the pace feverishly high.
All of which leaves us here: a good fight the first time, maybe an even better one tonight. The main event ringwalks should go off around 10pm local time. We’ll keep you updated between now and then.
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Donald McRae’s take on tonight’s big fight.
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