Chris Eubank Jr and
Conor Benn are just days away from adding another chapter to the longest-running family feud in British boxing.
Their first fight captured lightning in a bottle. On April 26, three years of subplots and controversy came to a head as the pair went to war in a middleweight fight doing justice to the standard their famous fathers set more than 30 years ago.
In front of a capacity crowd at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Eubank and Benn dragged each other to the verge of exhaustion with
Eubank a deserved winner after 12 brutal rounds. On Saturday night, they return to the same venue for an eagerly-awaited rematch, atop a six-fight bill
available on DAZN PPV.
The grudge is the latest in a long line of British rivalries. The tale of Eubank and Benn’s famous fathers has been told time and time again but let’s take a look back at some other examples.
Tony Bellew and Nathan Cleverly
Tony Bellew - a quick talking, wise-cracking Liverpudlian - and Nathan Cleverly - a maths graduate from Cardiff - were always going to rub each other up the wrong way.
From the headband he wore to the ring to his habit of dismissing Bellew's abilities, everything about the Welshman annoyed Bellew who instinctively realised they were on a collision course and built the fight up from early in his career. Cleverly seemed to relish the ill-feeling, taking every opportunity to wind up and antagonise Bellew.
In May 2011, Juergen Braehmer withdrew from his WBO light heavyweight title defence with Cleverly just three days before the opening bell. Cleverly had his interim belt upgraded and Bellew jumped at the chance to challenge him for his new title. He dumped off some weight, made his way to London and set about a willing Cleverly at a wild press conference.
Citing concerns over Bellew’s weight, the British Boxing Board of Control prohibited him from losing the remaining pounds and the fight was cancelled as quickly as it had been made.
Still, the seed was planted and, five months later, Cleverly travelled to Liverpool to make the first defence of his WBO title against Bellew. After a hard 12 rounds, Cleverly just about retained his title with a majority decision.
Although both went their separate ways, the rivalry never really died. Three years later they met again as cruiserweights. Bellew cranked up the hostility out of the ring but the fight itself was a tamer affair. Much more comfortable at 200 pounds, Bellew outworked Cleverly and more than deserved his split decision victory.
Carl Froch and George Groves
From the moment his world title defence against
George Groves was announced,
Carl Froch treated the sizeable but dangerous underdog with pure contempt.
Groves used the disrespect as a weapon, calmly and deliberately poking and prodding the unified WBA and IBF super middleweight champion during a succession of memorable media appearances. By the time fight night arrived in November 2013, Groves had Froch and British boxing fans in the palm of his hand.
Groves immediately found his timing and range and as the first round came to an end, a huge overhand right dropped the champion and sucked the air out of the Manchester Evening News Arena.
During a violent sixth round Froch shipped a series of right hands, any of which would have knocked out most super middleweights on the planet.
That was as bad as things got for Froch. Showing incredible toughness, he slowly but surely began to claw his way back and the fight had begun to turn his way when referee Howard Foster, stepped in-between the fighters and controversially stopped a disorganised, tiring Groves during an exchange.
The decision to take the rematch to London’s Wembley Stadium heralded a new era for British boxing.
Although Groves toned down the mind games slightly before the return, publicly at least, Froch approached the fight in a far more detached manner. He couldn’t resist the odd nibble but, on the whole, managed to hold himself back from taking the bait Groves laid.
Once the first bell sounded, the rematch lacked the edge of the first fight but an intriguing, tense battle kept 80,000 fans invested until Groves moved directly into a Froch right hand and was counted out in the eighth round bringing a sudden, shocking end to a rivalry that had dominated British boxing for almost a year.
Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte
Back in 2009,
Dillian Whyte and
Anthony Joshua boxed above a pub in North London. A few hundred people saw Whyte drop Joshua and beat him over three rounds.
Over the coming years, the rivalry and personal venom between the two developed to the point that, six years later, 20,000 fans filled London’s O2 Arena to see them renew hostilities as professionals. A lot had changed in the intervening period.
By the time they met again, Joshua had won a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games and was well on his way to becoming a global superstar. In contrast, Whyte had endured out of the ring troubles and dragged himself up from the ground floor. Importantly, however, he had absolutely no fear of Joshua and had no problem with telling him so.
The two clashed at a
Wladimir Klitschko training camp and, in December 2015, they met in a vitriolic British and Commonwealth title fight.
Joshua flew out of the traps. He dominated the opening round, looking set for a quick, early victory. As the bell saved a hurt Whyte, bedlam descended on the O2 Arena. The pair traded long after the bell and the fighter's teams and security stormed into the ring.
Whyte - who entered the ring with a damaged shoulder - refused to wilt. In the second, he hurt Joshua for the first time in his pro career with a well-timed left hook and a focused body attack began to pay real dividends.
To his credit, Joshua passed his first real gut check. He slowly turned the screw and decisively ended their dramatic fight with a brutal right uppercut midway through round seven. Joshua went on to become a two-time unified heavyweight champion, while Whyte never reached the mountaintop.
Chris Eubank Jr. vs Conor Benn II will headline "The Ring: Unfinished Business" and stream live on DAZN PPV from 11.45am ET/4.45pm GMT.