Benn-Eubank 1 was a good 50-50 domestic fight which became an event because there were only 4 channels, ITV made a good show of boxing at the time, and it was on an otherwise quiet Sunday night. Benn-Eubank 2 was a casual-fest swept along by ITV's blanket coverage of the event, getting the most out of their rights fee. People I know who would claim that "they didn't even know it was boxing season" (paraphrased from an episode of Frasier) were glued to it and haven't watched a fight since. Hardcore fans knew it wasn't the mega fight they were making out - there were better super-middles elsewhere, it was never going to live up to the first fight anyway, and Don King was just using it to set up fodder for Nunn and co. But we knew it was the biggest UK fight going and Lewis-Bruno had been denied to most of us the month before since Sky TV wasn't common. This modern version is precisely in between. Casuals will tune in, whipped up by social media hype as Matchroom always manages, but underneath there will be enough boxing fans who don't like the smell of the event but will tune in anyway.
It could dangerous both ways IMO, Eubank Jr if he's weight and Benn if he takes too much from the much bigger man especially, as hittable as he is.
The fight is 50/50 because both are supposed overrated. This forum hates on both, that to me evens things up. If people are excited about something, an event, a movie, a tv show, the amount of actual substance in the product becomes secondary as it is the excitment which becomes the event, a night of enjoyment.
It’s a cash out fight by two sons of legends. One who spent most of his career avoiding the best. The other whose career is midterm but has reached the end of the road in terms of beating up on sub world level competition. It will be an interesting spectacle while it lasts. We are going to see how tough Connor Benn is that is for sure.
The thread is about casuals and hardcores though and you're kind of making my point. Lewis was the rising star in heavyweights to the extent the other champion wouldn't fight him. By that time Benn-Eubank was an attraction but by no means Lewis's pound-for-pound level. I remember being out the night of the Lewis-Bruno fight but making sure someone had access to tell me what was happening; nobody else that night cared less.
I feel Benn was better than pre-Steward Lewis P4P and Eubank was never knocked out. The girls at my college were talking about Benn v Eubank in 1993, one of them had a crush on Benn, she told me that for some reason, lol
Jacobs against Canelo perhaps - he didn't have to boil down 3 pounds from the usual limit but did have a rehydration work against him. Bellew by the time he fought Usyk was a ghost of his Haye saga weight, and it showed.
