‘No two men should have to go through that' – Chris Eubank vs Nigel Benn was so brutal his coach didn't want the rematch

The Sun

25-04-2025

Jack Figg, Digital Sports Reporter
Published: Invalid Date,
CHRIS EUBANK'S win over Nigel Benn in 1990 was so brutal that his coach Ronnie Davies never wanted either men to go through it again.
But they did, fighting to a controversial draw three years after their classic but never settling the score with a trilogy bout.
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Now, three decades later and their sons renew their family feud with Eubank Jr facing Conor Benn on Saturday in a middleweight grudge match.
Davies - who was in the hospital ward the night Eubank Jr was born - is still haunted by the brutality of Sr's ninth-round stoppage win.
He told SunSport: "After the fight, I said to Barry Hearn, 'No two men she has to go through that again.' It was horrendous, the punishment they took.
"We're in the corner and you could hear the power going in and they're going, 'Is that what you've got, you're punching like a girl! Is that what you've got?'
"It was brutal. Yeah, you see it was horrible."
Eubank was swallowing mouthfuls of his own blood from the fourth round onwards after an uppercut from Benn.
And he was left urinating blood for a WEEK after the bout - unable to even stand up in the shower on his own.
But Anthony Brown - Eubank Jr's amateur coach and pad man - does not rule out the sons putting on an equally violent fight.
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He said: "I think they're both cut from the same cloth.
"I think you've got two kids that have both got something to prove to themselves and to their fathers and for the legacy.
" So I think the fight can be as as good as that. It can be, can be, of course it can.
"But have you ever seen Chris in a boring fight? No, that's right, so it can't be anything but."
Benn - who is 23-0 with 14 knockouts but yet to step up to world level - is also rarely in a dull fight
But esteemed and respect boxing brain Davies hit back: "Conor's never been in a boring fight but he hasn't thought of anybody in the same league as Eubank Jr."
Eubank Jr, 35, and Benn, 28, were first due to fight in October 2022 in a 157lb catchweight clash.
But it was KOd with just days to go as Benn tested positive for clomiphene - a banned substance known to boost testosterone.
He protested his innocence and took his career to American - having two wins at the light-middleweight limit.
Meanwhile, UK Anti-Doping dropped the case against him, allowing Benn to fight on British soil again.
After the fight, I said to Barry Hearn, 'No two men she has to go through that again.' It was horrendous, the punishment they took.
Ronnie Davies on Chris Eubank vs Nigel Benn
But after the doping scandal, Eubank Jr was in no mood to make concessions and demanded the bout be at the 160lb middleweight limit.
But there is a 10lb rehydration clause - restricting what both can weigh on the morning of the bout.
Benn has shown off his body transformation and dad Nigel has boasted how his son was too much for super-middleweight champion William Scull - who faces Canelo Alvarez next week - in sparring.
Davies let out a chuckle as Brown responded: "Listen, we've done all that, we've walked those paths.
"We've been in there with world champions and we've done all of the above. Conor is still an infant to it. We've been there. It means nothing."
Davies would travel up and down the country with Eubank Sr to oversee Jr's sparring against some of Britain's best at the time.
And he said: "You've gotta remember, Eubank's been brought up with top sparring for years and that's what makes you the the boys you are all the hard sparring."
Brown added: "Chris was sparring British champions when he hadn't even turned pro.
"Ron was there when was there getting the better of Froch for all those days up there.
"So we've been there and we've seen it and done it. We've been there."
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