Chris Eubank Jr refused to rule out retirement after defeat to Conor Benn, but acknowledged he needed time to heal after going “through hell and back” before Saturday’s fight.
Eubank Jr (36-4, 25KOs) had played his part in a classic encounter with Benn (24-1, 14KOs) in April and got the better of his rival in an old-fashioned brawl by unanimous decision.
The tables were turned comprehensively this time in the fourth and final instalment of the family rivalry, with Eubank Jr a shadow of his former self and unable to handle the speed and ferocity of Benn.
It earned Benn victory by a comprehensive margin from the judges and ended the 35-year wait for a maiden triumph in this family feud.
After an out-of-sorts Eubank Jr twice picked himself off the canvas in round 12, he was magnanimous in defeat and reiterated the night belonged to Benn, but speculation over the reason behind his flat display will go on.
“I’ve been through hell and back to make it here,” Eubank Jr said.
“I genuinely thought that regardless of the issues that I have been dealing with, I would be able to go in there and win, use my boxing skills and use what I used in the first fight to beat Conor Benn.
“From that first round, I realised that I was mistaken, but it’s OK. I’m a fighter and this is what I do. Regardless of the dangers and the risk, we go to war and that’s what we do.
“I tried my best. Conor Benn put on a hell of a fight, he had a great performance and did everything that was asked of him. I congratulate him for his performance.”
Eubank Jr was invited on more than one occasion to detail what he had been through, but declined.
Asked if he might retire, he added: “We’re not talking about that right now.
“This is not about me. This night is about Conor. He did what he needed to do to win and he fought a great fight.
“You guys saw what I was in there tonight. Yeah, I thought once those bright lights hit and that round went, that I’d find something and I tried.
“I tried hard, but it wasn’t there and Conor was strong, was fast and he was tough. Yeah, congratulations to him.”
Benn had already promised the “saga was over” and there would be no trilogy.
“You know right now, I’m not really in the state of mind to be thinking about next fights,” Eubank Jr conceded.
“I need to heal, I need to deal with what I am dealing with and then after that, I can start thinking about my path in the sport.”
Soon after Eubank Jr headed for the exit and allowed Boxxer founder Ben Shalom to address the media, but he cut off his promoter when a small insight was provided behind the struggles of his fighter.
“All I want to say is what Chris went through in camp, he won’t want to talk about it, but the things I saw, he did incredibly well to get in the ring tonight,” Shalom started before Eubank Jr implored him to stop.
“Chris doesn’t want to (speak), but I saw what I saw and he deserves a huge amount of credit to get in there.”
