By Brian Webber: Chris Eubank Jr’s life-size advantage will finally prove to be too much for Conor Benn on Oct. 8, according to George Groves.
He feels welterweight Benn (21-0, 14 KO) faces an uphill battle as he takes on the bigger and more experienced Eubank Jr. (32-2, 23 KO) in their bout on DAZN PPV at the O2 Arena in London.
The 25-year-old Benn’s lack of experience is even more of a handicap than his lack of size, as he has been coddled by promoter Eddie Hearn throughout his career.
Hearn hasn’t made any moves to put Benn up with quality contenders at 147 and has been content to pit him against powerless faded veterans who were no threat to beat him.
Inexperienced against contenders at 147, it suggests that Benn will be out of his league against Eubank Jr, with fans in for a slaughter on October 8.
“I think size matters. We learned that recently, with [Saul Canelo] Alvarez, who moved up to light heavyweight [to fight Dmitry Bivol]and now he’s back,” George Groves told Boxing UK when asked for his thoughts on the Oct. 8 fight between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn.
“I think Conor Benn is not just giving away experience and some other attributes. He is giving away a lot of life size. He has a huge uphill battle. Never say Never. I’ve been watching his camp. He looks like he has been acting brilliantly.
“It could be an opportunity, but I can’t see how size doesn’t win that fight,” Groves said in picking Eubank Jr to defeat Benn.
“I think Eubank Jr is too big. I really like Conor Benn,” Carl Frampton told pro boxing fans. “He is in a win-win situation. If he loses the fight, he can say, ‘I was too small in the fight.’
“I think that is going to be the case. I think he is determined and really willing to do whatever he can to win. I just think the size is going to be the problem. Give Conor Benn a lot of credit for the improvements he’s made over the years.
“It’s just a step too far for him at this stage. I think the size of Eubank will be the key,” Frampton said.
