Eddie Hearn has suggested he will not be surprised if Chris Eubank Jr’s corner team throw in the towel on Saturday, if things get tough during the rematch with Conor Benn.
This weekend, Eubank Jr and Benn will return to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Eubank Jr won a thrilling clash on points in April – more than 30 years after their fathers, Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn, fought each other for the second and final time.
While Eubank Jr earned bragging rights over Benn seven months ago, Hearn is confident that his boxer can gain revenge on Saturday, and the Matchroom promoter even believes that Benn could force Eubank Jr’s team to intervene.
“[Eubank Jr] is a tough, tough man,” said Benn’s promoter on Tuesday, speaking to publications including The Independent. “I mean, I’ll give him his credit. And he’ll have to be tough again on Saturday night.
“He’s stubborn, and actually that stubbornness is what makes him what he is in the ring. He’s a stubborn individual, and he won’t be easy to beat on Saturday.
“He’s not all of a sudden gonna jack it in; if someone pulls him out of this fight on Saturday, it ain’t gonna be him! But I know that after the last fight, the reaction of the team… I think it was like: ‘We don’t need to do this anymore.’
“And that’s why, when it gets deep on Saturday, that’s when that circle [possibly] starts saying: ‘Let’s pull him out.’ There may be a conversation like that during the fight.
“You know what Eubank is gonna say: ‘F*****g absolutely not!’ But if his dad’s there, if the corner’s there… You don’t know the conversations that happen behind closed doors.”
Addressing Eubank Jr’s announcement this week, that he will be a father to twin boys, Hearn added: “I’m not saying he’s softer now, but I think naturally as you get older, as you start developing wealth, you know…
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“He’s got family, he’s got his nephew. You can see that side coming out of him a little bit more, but it’s not gonna change what he does in the ring.”
Eubank Jr turned 36 in September, but he has played down the idea that Saturday’s fight could be his last – an idea that Hearn believes.
Meanwhile, Benn turned 29 in September and is eyeing a return to welterweight after his rematch with Eubank Jr, which will take place at middleweight like April’s initial showdown.
