Conor Benn placed his head down when the three judges scoring the fight gave the edge to Chris Eubank Jr.
Although he was heartbroken, he refused to be a sore loser. He metaphorically shook Eubank Jr.’s hand, walked out of the ring, and greeted the media with open arms.
Unsurprisingly, one of the first questions Benn was asked pertained to the final decision. If he wanted to make a fuss, that was the time to do it. However, Benn (23-1, 14 KOs) accepted defeat graciously and placed the blame on himself. With that said, that statement was uttered before he went back to watch the tape. Now that he has, his opinion on the final outcome is completely different.
“I watched the fight back. I personally had me up a point,” explained Benn during a self-recorded video.
All three judges at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this past Saturday night saw things identically, handing Eubank Jr. a 116-112 victory. Benn, who brazenly moved up to the middleweight division to acquiesce his much bigger rival, believes he’s being objective.
While he hates to admit it, there were times when Eubank Jr. (35-3, 25 KOs) looked dominant. He pushed Benn back, landed countless shots on the ropes, and had the crowd oohing and ahhing. But on the other hand, Benn had plenty of success. He bobbed, weaved, wobbled his man, and seemed to be on his way to a stoppage win at times.
The problem Benn has with the way things played out was the nature of their scorecards. Mark Bates, Lee Every, and Kieran McCann gave Eubank Jr. eight rounds to his four. If you felt compelled to give the 35-year-old the victory, no problem. But at the very least, Benn believes he should have been given a bit more credit.
“I wouldn't have moaned a point either way, but the scorecards were a bit wide in my opinion,” continued Benn. “I’m a keep it moving, I’m not gonna cry over no spilled milk. I just have to do better, work harder. We’re just getting started.”