Chris Eubank Jr has defeated Conor Benn by unanimous decision after a pulsating bout at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The 35-year-old, seven years older than the Destroyer, won 116-112 on each scorecard after a riveting clash which demanded every ounce from its competitors.
Both boxers gave it their utmost for the 12 rounds and looked like faltering on multiple occasions but soldiered on until the end, much to the entertainment of the packed-out arena, before Benn was handed his first career defeat on his comeback after 23 wins.
They had been made to wait 30 months for this, after the fight slated for october 2022 was initially cancelled due to Benn’s failed drugs test, and they both bayed for blood from the off.
‘It was one of the most dramatic fights I’ve seen,’ Eddie Hearn said in the aftermath.
The fight got off to a frenetic start, with both boxers throwing plenty of punches but not landing much.
Chris Eubank Jr defeated Conor Benn by unanimous decision after 12 demanding rounds
Both boxers slugged it out gave every ounce of their being, soldiering on even when they looked on the verge of collapse
Eubank Jr celebrated with his legendary father, who shocked the world by turning up
Their nervous energy spilled into the second round, with Benn failing to land a few wild punches from range, and Eubank Jr having joy with the jab.
Benn made the first major breakthrough of the night in the third round, catching Eubank Jr with a big right hand and forcing the 35-year-old to hang on briefly to recover his balance.
Both toppled to the canvas after a clutch, but were back on their feet instantly before the bell rang to end the third round, with Benn in the ascendancy.
Eubank Jr hit back in the fourth round, landing a punishing left hook and a right uppercut which both elicited roars from the crowd, but Benn gave as good as he got.
In the fifth round, Eubank Jr’s physicality came to the fore and he looked in the driving seat. Benn comically fell after a push and regained his footing with a backwards roll, which looked as suited to a circus as it did the boxing ring, before later bouncing off his opponent and hitting the ropes after another push.
During the sixth round they showed no signs of fading energy, both coming out bloodthirsty and landing blows to the face, while more feral shots went astray. Eubank Jr looked settled in his range and jab, though Benn occasionally broke through inside.
After six rounds the general feeling was that the fighters were even on 57 points apiece.
Eubank Jr landed the best punch of the fight to date in the seventh, hitting bullseye with a huge uppercut, but Benn weathered the storm.
In the eighth, the bigger man again punished Benn with several blows to the head in quick succession as his defences fell, and but Eubank Jr, seven years his rival’s senior, started to look heavier on his feet.
And Eubank Jr looked in trouble for the last 30 seconds of the eighth round, clinging on to Benn as he tried to survive an onslaught, and looking as if he could fall at any moment.
The ninth round was as frenzied as any, both going at it like machines from close range, reeling off a flurry of punches as the crowd bayed for a breakthrough.
Eubank Jr sustained a nasty cut above his right eye caused by a clash of heads but kept swinging, with the arena amazed neither man had gone down. Going to the corner, Next Gen looked briefly to the heavens. How would this end? This was a test of endurance.
Both fighters were slipping on the canvas in the 10th, and Benn had luck with a right hand as Eubank Jr looked sluggish, though he finished the round strong and had his opponent pinned on the ropes.
In the 11th round the wind initially appeared in the sails of Benn, the Destroyer, who worked on his jab, but in the latter stages he endured an avalanche of punches from his opponent, who likely felt the points advantage was his.
Each man looked exhausted as he took his final rest before the final round, the one which would demand every ounce of their being.
The punches crashed like lightning in the first 20 seconds, Eubank Jr landing many punches in that opening salvo, and Benn was staggering in the moments before entering the last minute.
Eubank Jr looked out on his feet for a moment against the ropes, both men straining under the absolute exhaustion and weight of the occasion, but somehow they both slugged on to the final bell.
