By: Sean Crose
Sometimes – and admittedly it’s not too often. – a fight will match its hype. Such was the case when Conor Benn faced Chris Eubank in what was definitively 2025’s Fight of The Year. Both fighters were members of boxing royalty. But it was more than that… it was a family feud. “It had appeared at one point that the fight never would become a reality,” Boxing Insider wrote at the time. “On Saturday, however, Chris Eubank and Conor Benn, whose own fathers had once thrown down in a classic, now threw down in what will likely be seen as a classic of their own.”
The fight was a blistering affair, loaded with high energy and almost grim determination on behalf of both fiighters. This wasn’t a novelty bout this was an actual boxing match and a very good one, so good that one had to admire each man’s skill and stamina. “By the ninth,” wrote Boxing Insider, “it was worth wondering how in the world each man was able to keep up the pace before the roaring crowd.” Without doubt, Benn and Eubank went above and beyond expectations until the sound of the final bell. Eubank walked out with the decision win, but – corny though it may sound – there were no losers in this match.”
Of course there was a rematch later this year, one that Benn won handily. Still it didn’t have the thrill of the first fight. Such battles tend to take a lot out of the fighters, however. With that being said, both fighters could hang up the gloves now and they’d still be remembered for the first fight they had in England back in April.
There’s more to a career than just one fight, of course, but when it comes to the kind of fight Benn and Eubank had, it’s hard to argue that it won’t stay in the collective memory for quite a while. This was often seen as an English fight rather than an international one. And that honestly may have been the case walking in. Benn and Eubank, however, turned everyone on to their throwdown by fighting exceptionally and in an exciting fashion. It was the kind of fight that makes you lean back in your chair, mouth agape. There aren’t many of those bouts – at least not these days – so when one is actually going down it’s likely to be remembered.
