Via Brian Webber: Eddie Hearn firmly believes Conor Benn can beat middleweight challenger Chris Eubank Jr in their 157-pound weightlifting match on October 8 at the O2 Arena in London.
Hearn revealed on Wednesday that Benn (21-0, 14 KOs) beat middleweight opponents in his first match for his big fight on DAZN PPV against Eubank Jr.
We’ve seen the way Benn punches in welterweight that he has the kind of power that can easily be carried up to 157. What we don’t know is if Benn has the chin to receive massive blasts from Eubank Jr (32-2, 23 KOs) if he can handle the combo punch.
Eubank Jr tends to combine his punches much better than anyone in the middleweight class, and he’s lethal when he lets loose his shots.
As long as Benn can handle what’s coming back to him from Eubank Jr, he has a great chance of winning this fight.
“It was a big risk for him, but it was related to what he wanted to do,” Eddie Hearn told DAZN Boxing Show about Conor Benn wanting to move up to middleweight to take on Chris Eubank Jr.
“I see his future at 147. In the end, he will 100% go to 154,” Hearn continued about Conor. “I don’t see him ever hitting 160, nor will he weigh at 160 for this match. The future is 147.
“Again, we see everything going on in the gym. I know sparring is sparring, but he’s not going to fight heavyweights in the gym. He’s competing with the big middleweights, and he’s taking them out.
“So we look at this war in a different way. I’ve seen a few people say, ‘This was a mistake. This is like Gennadiy Golovkin versus Kell Brook. ‘ I know the weight is similar.
“A welterweight jumps to middleweight, even though this fight isn’t limited to middleweight. Chris Eubank Jr can beat well and he can beat Conor Benn too.
“It was a tough fight. Eubank has a wonderful chin; he is very fit and has a great motivation. This was an extremely fiery match from the first half.
“If you are looking at winning. Chris Eubank Jr beat a lackluster James DeGale, but he still beat DeGale. He had a good fight with George Groves. I knew George was wounded at the end of that war and was going to be in that fight.
“I rate Eubank. I think he’s tough as granite and has a great chin, just like his dad. But I don’t see him necessarily as an elite middleweight. I think he’s world-class middleweight, but I don’t think he beat any good world champion in middleweight.
“I don’t think he beat Charlo, of course Golovkin. I don’t think he beat Canelo. But listen, this is a big fight for him. You talk about Conor Benn winning this war. If Eubank wins this match, I think he can face Gennadiy Golovkin in England or Canelo Alvarez at Wembley.
“So this is a big fight for both, but it’s deeper than what comes next. That’s Eubank-Benn. I cannot explain that. Just saying that gives me goosebumps. Born Rivals, that’s the name of the show, and it’s huge.
“That happens a lot. You see Canelo Alvarez. He can’t go back to 160 because he fought at 168 and 175. It’s very difficult when you change. He will do this very differently in his training camp, Conor Benn.
“It’s not just the feeling of gaining weight like that. That’s how your body changes during training to put it back, to get rid of some muscle mass. Do all of this to get back to 147, and he’s tight at 147.
“I am very excited about this fight. Construction, role programming, fathers. It’s huge,” Hearn said.
