Chris Eubank Jr. said he has been “through hell and back” during camp leading up to his defeat to Conor Benn on Saturday.
After a comprehensive win in their first meeting in April, Eubank Jr. looked off the pace from the opening bell with Benn using his jab and movement to tire his opponent out even more. Benn’s domination culminated with two knockdowns in Round 12 as Eubank Jr. was saved by the bell.
After the fight, the two embraced despite their dislike for each other and Eubank Jr. congratulated his rival. However, he said personal issues as well as the weight cut had caused him issues during camp he and knew from the opening round he faced an uphill battle in the rematch.
“I’ve been through hell and back to make it here today. I genuinely thought that regardless of the issues that I’ve been dealing with, I would be able to go in there and win,” Eubank Jr. told his post-fight news conference.
“Use my boxing skills. Use what you guys saw in that first fight to beat Conor Benn. From that first round, I realised that I was mistaken, but it’s okay. I’m a fighter. This is what I do.
“I tried my best. Conor Benn put on a hell of a fight. He had a great performance. He did everything that was asked of him, and I congratulate him for his performance.”
When asked if he would consider a trilogy fight, the 36-year-old was non-committal on whether he would continue fighting.
“Right now, I’m not really in the state of mind to be thinking about next fights. I need to heal.
“I need to deal with what I’m dealing with and then after that I can start thinking about my path in the sport.”
– Boxing results: Benn dominates Eubank, Catterall, Azim score KO wins
– Benn: I’ll ‘go home and cry’ after beating Eubank
– The show must go on — trilogy won’t happen but options emerge
Promoter Ben Shalom highlighted how much Eubank Jr. had struggled during camp but did not go into details.
“What Chris went through in camp … He won’t want to talk about it, but the things I saw he did incredibly well to get in the ring tonight,” Shalom said, as Eubank Jr. protested and asked him to stop talking.
“What I saw, he deserves a huge amount of credit to get in there tonight. It was an unbelievable spectacle,” Shalom added.