Chris Eubank Jr insists his boxing career will be "finished" if he loses to Conor Benn in their highly-anticipated grudge fight.
Eubank Jr and Benn will renew a family rivalry on October 8 almost 30 years on since their fathers first touched gloves. Benn's father, Nigel, was the middleweight and super-middleweight champion when he fought Eubank's father, Chris Sr, twice in the 1990s. Eubank Sr won the pair's first meeting before the rematch was scored a draw.
The upcoming 157lb super-fight will mark Eubank Jr's lightest weight since he was just 18. Benn usually fights at 147lb but will go on a high-calorie diet to bulk up in size for the all-British clash. And Eubank Jr admitted that if he loses to Benn, his hopes of fighting for a middleweight world title are over.
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"No excuses, for me this is actually lose-lose and for him it's a win-win," he said. "If I lose to Conor Benn on the 8th of October, I'm finished. Finished. My goal is to fight for a world title within the next year. I can't lose to Conor Benn and then say 'hey, let me fight for a middleweight world title'. It just can't happen.
"If I win, I'm most likely not going to get the credit for it because it'll be 'oh, he was too big'. So it's a lose-lose. All the risk and pressure is on me for this fight, I've got a lot more to lose. He's in a great position, he's going to make an absurd amount of money. It's a great business move on his part but make no mistake, on October 8 I'm going to liquidate [him]."
Eubank Jr and Benn faced off the first time this week ahead of the fight, with Benn giving up a three-inch height and five-inch reach advantage to his rival. Eubank Jr insisted he doesn't dislike Benn, but the hatred Benn's father held for Eubank Sr has made the fight personal.
"I don't even dislike Conor. He hasn't done anything to me personally, so I don't dislike him, but at the same time this fight is personal," he added. "The things that his father put my father through, I can't forgive and I can't forget. I watched the mental stress and the toll it took on him preparing for those fights, him going to hospital and losing half of his tongue. This is a fight where both of our family names are on the line and we have to uphold those names to the best of our ability."
