@Rumsfeld You nailed the essence of the fight as well as a look at their respective futures. I'd also like to note that I thought referee Kevin Parker did a great job of keeping the hostilities from getting out of hand.
I don't want to take anything away from Benns performance which was very good, but CEJ didn't look himself and looked weight drained in this fight IMO. I think if he continues fighting it will be at 168 pounds. I had it 118-110 for Benn.
Nice to see someone at Ring recognising you Rummy, smart move on their part, hope you get a few folk following you over to the corner. Your review was spot on. Credit to Benn for working on some of his flaws. There were occasional flickers of good work from Eubank, but even when he did connect there didn't seem to be much in his shots. Just listened to Sergio Mora's take on the podcast he shares with Chris Mannix and he was in no doubt that the weight drain had robbed Eubank of any vitality.
Thank you very much! I totally agree regarding Parker. Just when it looked like things might evolve into a sloppy, scrappy, foul-infested encounter, he took charge with authority. With a different, more passive referee, that one may have unfolded quite differently.
I’ll add that too, I wasn’t overly familiar with the ref, I knew the name but couldn’t place previous performances, he handled it very well. There was a part later in the fight where he broke them up and you could see Benn staring directly at Eubank to assert his dominance and how comfortable he was, hardly breathing, while Eubanks shoulders were going up and down. I know Eubank would have put that poker face on though.
I think Rummy and others have nailed the essence of this fight, Eubank looked like a weight drained, sluggish 36 year old fighter against a quicker younger opponent who appeared to have gained some patience and maturity in his fighting style compared to their last fight. I can't envision Benn dropping all the way back down to 147, but 54 and 60 yeah maybe.
I, too, have a difficult time imagine him dropping back to 147 while remaining as sharp and effective as he was last weekend. But he may still be young enough to pull it off. Guess we will find out in due time.
Incidentally, on an unrelated note, if anyone is interested, my Ring IV Prediction Video is up on the DAZN App. You should be able to access it through this link: https://www.dazn.com/en-US/home/ArticleId:vp3txnsq1tdd10fxq41p1ern8/vp3txnsq1tdd10fxq41p1ern8
