Has Benn bitten off more than he can chew by fighting Eubank Jr?

10/04/2022

Conor Benn is jumping up TEN POUNDS to face Chris Eubank Jr in their grudge match, but after Amir Khan and Kell Brook showed how dangerous it is to skip a weight class, has he bitten off more than he can chew?

Conor Benn is due to fight Chris Eubank Jr at a catchweight on Saturday
Benn is jumping up 10lbs in weight and some may view this as a free hit for him
There may also be a concern that he has bitten off more than he can chew
Amir Khan and Kell Brook have skipped weight classes before and suffered devastating knockout defeats
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Conor Benn’s grudge match with Chris Eubank Jnr is just days away but questions and concerns over the weight the pair will fight at refuse to go away.

The two boxers have operated at separate weights throughout their careers, with Eubank Jr largely campaigning at middleweight, while Benn has settled into the welterweight division.

But to get this huge fight on they have agreed to meet each other at a catchweight of 157lbs. This means that Eubank Jr will be coming in 3lbs below the middleweight limit, whereas Benn is jumping up 10lbs from his usual fighting weight.

Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn will settle their differences in a catchweight fight on Saturday

With this in mind, the majority of the pressure appears to be on Eubank Jr – he is naturally the bigger man and has stated that he will retire if he loses.

But is this really a free hit for Benn? A win would truly lift him out of his father’s shadow, but what if he loses in devastating fashion?

Fellow Brits Amir Khan and Kell Brook have previously taken on the challenge of moving up from welterweight and skipping through the weight classes, and it did not end well for either man.

Sportsmail looks back at what happened when Khan and Brook dared to be great, and whether Benn is in danger of suffering a similar fate.

What happened when Khan stepped up to face Canelo?

Khan was on a five-fight win streak when he was presented with the opportunity to fight Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez in May, 2016.

With the WBC and Ring Magazine titles on the line, Khan accepted the fight, despite reservations from his own trainer Virgil Hunter.

The Bolton-born boxer had a slight height advantage over his opponent, but when it came to weight, it was clear who held the upper hand come fight night.

Khan started brightly, using his speed to frustrate Canelo early, and one judge had him ahead after five rounds.

However, a brief lapse in concentration proved costly in the sixth round as a huge overhand right sent Khan crashing to the canvas, with the referee swiftly waving the fight off.

Amir Khan was knocked out by a huge overhand right from Canelo Alvarez in May 2016

Khan needed medical attention afterwards, and was arguably never the same fighter again

Khan needed several minutes to get back to his feet after the devastating one-punch knockout, and later admitted he should not have taken the fight in the first place.

‘It’s a fight I should never have gone into because he was physically too big,’ Khan told Boxing News in 2018.

‘I had my chances, I thought I could outbox him and be smart and not get hit but obviously he got me with a big shot.’

It would be almost two years before Khan set foot in the ring again after his loss to Canelo, and he would go on to lose two of his final five fights before hanging up his gloves earlier this year.

Did Brook fare any better against Golovkin?

Back in 2016, no one seemed to want to fight Gennady Golovkin. Then Brook came along.

The Kazakh brawler had been negotiating a fight with Eubank Jr, but when talks broke down, Brook stepped in.

At the time, it was a battle of two unbeaten champions, with Brook the IBF welterweight title-holder, while Golovkin was widely seen as the man to beat in the middleweight division.

The pair faced each other at the O2 Arena in September 2016, just four months after Khan had been beaten by Canelo.

Like Khan, Brook had his moments, lifting the home crowd off their seats when he landed a jolting uppercut on Golovkin’s chin in the second round.

Kell Brook took significant punishment during his fight with Gennady Golovkin in 2016

Brook suffered a fractured right eye socket and was stopped by Golovkin in the fifth round

After four rounds, there was very little to split Brook and Golovkin, but there was concern in the former’s corner.

Brook had started to complain about his vision and was clearly bothered by his right eye as the contest wore on.

Golovkin took control in the fifth round, thudding home harmful shots, and with Brook back-pedalling to avoid further damage, his trainer Dominic Ingle threw in the towel.

It would later be confirmed that Brook had suffered a fractured right eye socket which required surgery.

Brook was stopped by Errol Spence in his next fight as he struggled to recover from the Golovkin loss

Eight months later, he returned to defend his welterweight title against Errol Spence, but faded as the fight progressed and was stopped in the 11th round after picking up another worrying eye injury, this time fracturing his left orbital bone.

Brook continued to fight after that, winning three on the bounce against limited opposition before losing to Terence Crawford inside three rounds in November 2020.

He managed to go out on a high by beating Khan in a grudge match in February before announcing his retirement, although Ingle has claimed that the Sheffield man is considering making a comeback.

Has Benn bitten off more than he can chew?

Khan and Brook both went for glory by taking on Canelo and Golovkin, but their decisions backfired as they endured punishing defeats.

The duo would go on to be stopped on multiple occasions in the latter stages of their careers, and were arguably never the same again after their respective 2016 losses.

These examples highlight that Benn is taking a risk by moving up to face Eubank Jr – these matchups do not tend to end well for the smaller man and can have lasting effects.

Then again, Benn may argue that Eubank Jr does not possess the one-punch knockout power that Canelo and Golovkin have.

Eubank Jr is known for wearing his opponents down rather than taking them out with one shot

Benn is still taking a gamble, though, as a sustained beating could take years off his career

Both men have delivered highlight-reel knockouts numerous times, while Eubank Jr has tended to wear his opponents down rather than taking them out in emphatic fashion.

This could in turn still be a worry for Benn supporters, though. Khan was stopped by a single punch, while Brook’s fight with Golovkin lasted less than five rounds, but it arguably took years off their careers. If Benn takes a sustained beating, will he ever be able to recover?

Benn has backed himself, and called for this fight when there were other options at welterweight out there, but he could be gambling with his future.

On Saturday night, we’ll find out whether his gamble pays off.

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