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Chris Eubank Jr. almost feels like he is living in an alternate universe.
The longtime 160 and 168-pound British contender has been mildly surprised by the number of observers picking Conor Benn, a career welterweight, over him in their highly anticipated 157-pound catchweight bout Oct. 8 at The O2 Arena in London.
With at least two weight classes separating the two fighters, Eubank is the naturally bigger man. And while Benn has made a name for himself in the past year as something of a budding knockout artist, Eubank is no slouch in the punching department either.
With all that in mind, combined with his vast experience, Eubank (32-2, 23 KOs) just sees no avenue in which Benn can actually hurt him, much less defeat him, despite the otherwise bold predictions being made by fans and experts alike.
“That’s the crazy thing about this is that seven out of 10 interviews that I’ve watched Chris Eubank is going to get knocked out in the seventh or ninth round or he’ll lose on points—it’s incredible,” Eubank told BBC 5 Live Boxing. “People really believe this. Conor believes this. I saw his thing where he said he’ll be the first person to stop me.
“He’ll be the strongest and the biggest he’s ever been, so that’s his advantage. He’s not going to have to cut an inch where he’ll be fully ready to go, where I don’t know how I’m going to be. I hope that I’m going to be good.”
Eubank has stated that he likely will not be at full physical strength on the night of the fight because of the catchweight and the rehydration limit imposed on him. But all that is fair game, Eubank said. In the past few days, Eubank has sought to paint himself as something of an underdog, a role he does not seem averse to assuming.
“It doesn’t worry me, no, because I don’t see a way that he can beat me,” Eubank said. “So even if I’m not a 100%, even if I’m 60%, I don’t see how he can beat me. I think I’m too strong, I think I’m too smart, too tough.
“Super middleweights cannot put me on the canvas. Heavyweights in Cuba cannot put me on the canvas. How is Conor Benn going to do it? Other people, experienced people, respected people in the industry can see him knocking me out. Maybe I’m missing something, I don’t know. But that’s the excitement of this fight. Everybody’s got their opinion and we’re all going to find out in two months’ time.”