The first time Chris Eubank Jr fought Conor Benn he went to hospital after being declared the winner.
This time, for his own good after being swatted like a fly stuck to the rim of a jam jar, he should head for the retirement home.
Preferably one without a sauna like the one in which he sweated himself into skeletal jeopardy before entering the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a second time.
Of all the decisions to be reached after Saturday night’s damp squib of a final episode in the Eubank-Benn family saga, the most important concerns the reckless manufacturing of the weights at which these two sons of famous fathers rendered woeful impersonations of their fabled fathers.
Had the addition of a punitive limitation on how many ounces Eubank was allowed to regain before the weigh-in and the first bell had ended with Junior in permanent brain damage – or heaven forbid the morgue – the inquest might have had criminal implications not only for the individuals concerned but for boxing itself.
The boos which pelted down on this cold night in north London were no doubt provoked by the paucity of the action but perhaps indicated also that the paying customers sensed something was not right.
Chris Eubank Jr was swatted like a fly against Conor Benn at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Eubank Jr should consider retirement after being well-beaten in the underwhelming rematch
Both boxers recklessly manufactured their weights to make the fight on Saturday evening
The weight divisions in this sport are there for a reason. Like preventing a light-welterweight from fighting a super-middleweight at an artificially contrived in-between poundage.
As it transpired on this occasion the one who suffered most was the naturally heavier man. Eubank did not wish to rain on Conor’s parade after he landed the first Benn victory in 35 years of un-neighbourly rivalry but did admit he had been ‘through hell and back’ a second time in order to meet the constraints of their agreement.
If boxing’s governing bodies needed any reminder that contracts restricting rehydration should be prohibited, it is now staring them in the face. Gentlemen, you know full well that dehydration is the most pervasive cause of cerebral harm in an already dangerous sport. Act now and ban this clause, which is born of nothing other than financial greed.
The lure of the lucre – reportedly £10million for Eubank and £8million for Benn – was too much for these fighters to resist. Never mind their promoters.
Mercifully both boxers appear to have emerged relatively unscathed. But what about the collateral damage to this hard old game?
The big sell virtually filled this Stadium once but not even the over-lauding of the first fight could repeat the trick this weekend. Despite some admitted papering of the house, empty seats reiterated the adage that while you can fool some of the people most of the time you can’t fool all the people all of he time.
Benn showed welcome common sense when he was first to declare this soap opera ‘finished.’ Praise be. On the evidence of public reaction on Saturday night and Sunday morning a trilogy fight would struggle to fill Bethnal Green’s York Hall, let alone a football ground.
If career’s end faces Eubank, the future for Benn the younger has to lie in returning to his born fighting poundage. Therein lies his only feasible of chance winning a world title. Although that defining distinction, which has eluded both these men thus far, is by no means a given in his case. There was loose talk of how he unleashed unsuspected punch power when he decked Eubank twice in the final round but they were flash knock downs against a physically diminished opponent.
Benn said the soap opera between him and Eubank Jr was ‘finished’ after claiming his victory
Eubank Jr is believed to have been paid £10million for the fight while Benn was given £8million
Yes, Benn showed fighting spirit to assert total control but what used to be the real Eubank simply failed to turn up and by my account and that of one the unanimous judges he lost every one of the 12 rounds.
Chris Junior grasped a sliver of redemption by rising instantly from those late floorings to reach the final bell but there was no indication that he was even slightly concussed and Conor could not finish him off. There is only one valid conclusion to be reached from this sorry saga.
Catchweight, between two men in adjacent divisions, is one thing. Deadweight is something less forgivable altogether.
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Reckless, greedy decisions could have caused Chris Eubank Jr serious injury – or worse – in defeat by Conor Benn. It is time for boxing to act now or risk greater damage to the sport, writes JEFF POWELL