George Groves wants Chris Eubank Jr. to retire rather than take the rematch with Conor Benn. He feels Eubank Jr. (35-3, 25 KOs) has seen his “best days,” and he notes that he’d been hospitalized for two days after his 12-round unanimous victory over Benn (23-1, 14 KOs) on April 26th in London.
Why Retire Now?
Groves states that “no other great fights” are available to the 35-year-old Eubank Jr., so he wants to see him leave the sport on a high after his win and big payday. However, Eubank Jr. has no intention of retiring. He wants the rematch with Benn and potentially a mega-fight against Canelo Alvarez in 2026. It sounds like Groves is trying to get in the way of Eubank Jr. creating a dynasty with the money he’ll make from the rematch and other well-paying fights.
Eubank Jr. threw absurd punches for a middleweight in the last two rounds. Benn was buried with activity and close to being stopped in both rounds.
Eubank Jr’s Punch Output
– Round 11: 109 punches and landed 52
– Round 12: 122 punches and landed 57
Eubank Jr. showed the youngster couldn’t match up with him. In the first three rounds, Benn had his moments throwing single right-hand potshots. But Conor was helpless after Eubank Jr. changed his fighting style, forcing the fight to the inside. He couldn’t do anything. He’s not a combination puncher, and he only throws right hands with power.
At close range, Benn couldn’t get any power because he needed to be on the outside to generate force on his shots. Eubank Jr. saw that flaw in Benn and took advantage of it.
Benn could only land occasional shots from round four through twelve when Eubank Jr. would move to the outside, but those were seldom. Most of Benn’s damage to Chris Jr’s face occurred in the first three rounds before he adjusted to take the action to the inside.
“No, I don’t think a rematch. No rematch. They had the fight. It was as big as it could have been,” Groves told Sky Sports. “I think Eubank should retire,” said George Groves to Sky Sports Boxing about him wanting to hang up his gloves rather than fight Conor Benn again.
“Eubank got the win. But I think he went straight to the hospital and didn’t come home till Monday morning. So I think he should leave his career there. I think Eubank should retire. His best days are way gone, way past him. But he’s had a massive night. He’s had a great payday. There’s no other fights out there for him that will get near it.”
Benn’s Weakness Exposed
I don’t see Eubank Jr. agreeing with Groves’ recommendation to retire. Why should he? He knows how to beat Conor and will probably stop him in the rematch by starting faster. Instead of fighting Benn’s fight in the first three rounds, Eubank Jr. will force him into a close-range war and overwhelm him with activity.
As we saw, Benn’s weakness is his inability to throw combinations and fight on the inside. That’s not going to change. Eubank Jr. knows the blueprint for defeating Benn, and he will ruin him in the rematch. Promoter Eddie Hearn would do well to steer Conor away from fighting Eubank Jr. again because he will get whipped even worse.
Last Updated on 05/02/2025
2025-05-02 17:07:30
