Nigel Benn did not hesitate to claim that his son, Conor, will face Chris Eubank Jr in a rematch. The two rivals ended three years of bad blood with a brutal back-and-forth clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night, with Eubank Jr. given the nod by all three judges by a score of 116-112.
While both boxers agreed to a rematch clause before the fight, Benn, 28, was quick to demand a chance to avenge his first career defeat after the bout. Twelve punishing rounds may have taken its toll for now, but in the aftermath, Nigel was also drawing up plans for his son to face Eubank Jr, 35, once again.
“I thought he did really well,” Benn Snr said of his son. “He learnt a lot from this and will come back stronger. He was working too much on the ropes, he should have been off the ropes.
“We’re not taking anything away from Chris, it’s his night. We can handle defeat gracefully. We’ll go back to the drawing board.”
However, with welterweight Benn bulking up for the middleweight showdown, Nigel said the rematch should happen soon so Benn can return to his former weight.
“You can’t go to 160, then drop down to 147, then come back up to 160,” he said. “Stay at 160, have the rematch, and then come back down to your weight. Then we’ll be happy.”
Benn himself was in a reflective mood following the defeat, after the original clash between the rivals was scrapped after he failed a drug test.
“14 months out the ring played a factor,” he said. “Inactivity, apart from that I felt like it was a close fight, I’m not going to say I think I won it, I’ll watch it back. I thought it was close. I maybe stayed on the ropes too long. I enjoyed it.
“It’s a hard one to swallow. I didn’t come into the fight thinking it would be that close, I didn’t come in to lose or for anything apart from winning. I want my revenge.”
However, it has been claimed that Eubank Jr and Benn could fight again in just five months’ time. Saudi Arabia boxing boss Turki Alalshikh revealed he has already earmarked a date and venue for the follow-up.
“If they’re not injured and ready, we want the rematch in late September at Tottenham,” he said. “The British fans were amazing, and I thank them.”
Benn, however, is waiting to see what comes his way. He said: “We always knew Chris was a good fighter. All the fighting talk is fighting talk. He’s a good fighter. I believe I can fight at 160.
“I’d love to avenge that loss, but if we don’t do the rematch, I want to go to welterweight and win that WBC title, [Mario Barrios, the current WBC welterweight champion] Barrios or Eubank rematch. Whatever happens next.”
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!