George Groves said that while Chris Eubank Jr holds knockout power, he wasn’t able to hurt him in the squared-circle. In what is being billed as one of the greatest British boxing matches of a generation, Eubank Jr is set to put a life-long rivalry with Conor Benn to bed when they meet at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.
Naturally a middleweight, Eubank Jr heads into the fray as the IBO’s champion with an overall record of 34-3, three inches taller and with a four-and-a-half inch reach advantage on 23-0 welterweight Benn. However, if Groves’ claims are anything to go off, he may not be able to finish the job when he finally has his day with one of his biggest rivals. Speaking to iFL TV, Groves said of Eubank Jr: “I mean he was physically strong but I don’t remember any shots that came through where I felt like the legs stiffened or he buzzed me in anyway at all.
“He’s certainly heavy handed enough that you wouldn’t want to give away any free shots, he caught me with a couple of cuffing left hooks and stuff like that but I think everything was answered really well, so anytime where he had a tiny bit of, what he might have perceived as success, I shut it down. I shut it down with heavy right hands to the body, it’s a shot I couldn’t miss with.
“He’s certainly a physical guy and a strong guy but in terms of punch power you see a lot of his shots coming because he loads up so much and I made him miss a lot especially a lot of the combinations he was throwing. I think my power was on another level from his.”
One of just three career losses on Eubank Jr’s record, Groves clinched the nod over his fellow pugilist back in February 2018 via unanimous decision after 12 hard-fought rounds. As a result, Eubank Jr relinquished his IBO super-middleweight strap, while also missing out on Groves’ WBA (Super) super-middleweight belt.
While Eubank Jr traditionally fights two weight classes above welterweight Benn, the two men are slated to meet at 160lbs during their fight in the capital on Saturday evening – with a hydration clause in place which will not allow Eubank Jr to add 10lbs onto his fight night weight.
With losses to Groves, Billy Joe Saunders and Liam Smith to his name, Eubank Jr heads into the fight on a two-fight winning streak at the age of 35 with 25 knockouts to his name. Benn, meanwhile, will hope to protect his own flawless record, which has seen him reign victorious over the likes of Peter Dobson, Rodolfo Orozco, and Chris van Heerden as of late.
The 28-year-old is yet to clinch world championship gold during his career to date, and will hope to put himself in the title picture with a statement win over a far more experienced opponent.