Chris Eubank Jr. almost feels like he’s living in an alternate universe.
The veteran British 160- and 168-pound contender was mildly surprised by the number of observers who chose Conor Benn, a career welterweight, over him in their highly anticipated 157-pound catchweight fight on October 8 at The O2 Arena. in London.
With at least two weight classes separating the two fighters, Eubank is naturally the bigger man. And while Benn has made a name for himself in the past year as something of a budding knockout artist, Eubank is no slouch in the punching department either.
With all of that in mind, combined with his vast experience, Eubank (32-2, 23 KOs) simply doesn’t see any avenue in which Benn could hurt him, let alone defeat him, despite the bold predictions made by fans and pundits alike. Same. .
“The crazy thing about this is that seven out of 10 interviews that I’ve seen, Chris Eubank will be knocked out in the seventh or ninth round or lose on points, it’s unbelievable,” Eubank told BBC 5 Live. Boxing. “People really believe this. Conor believes this. I saw the thing about him where he said that he would be the first person to stop me.
“He’s going to be the strongest and the biggest he’s ever been, so that’s his advantage. It’s not going to have to cut an inch where it’s completely ready to go, where I don’t know how I’m going to be. I hope everything will be all right”.
Eubank has stated that he likely won’t be in top physical shape on fight night due to the catchweight and rehydration limit placed on him. But all of that is fair game, Eubank said. In recent days, Eubank has tried to paint himself as an underdog, a role he doesn’t seem averse to taking on.
“I’m not worried, no, because I don’t see how he can beat me,” Eubank said. “So even if I’m not 100%, even if I’m 60%, I don’t see how he can beat me. I think I’m too strong, I think I’m too smart, too tough.
“Super middleweights can’t put me on the mat. The heavyweights in Cuba can’t put me on the canvas. How is Conor Benn going to do it? Other people, experienced people, respected people in the industry can see him knocking me out. Maybe I’m missing something, I don’t know. But that’s the thrill of this fight. Everyone has their opinion and we are all going to know it in two months.”
