Saturday’s event was touted as “unfinished business,” but in the lead-up it didn’t seem like that was true: there was no dispute over the outcome of the first contest.
Perhaps it went back to the rivalry between their parents, who achieved a controversial tie in their second and last meeting in 1993.
It was a dispute that gripped the British public but made them uneasy.
The scars of that fight still haunt Benn’s father, Nigel, and at the post-fight press conference he was dragged back into that mentality.
“He [Eubank Sr] He just loves being the center of attention, he doesn’t care about his son,” Nigel Benn said.
“I don’t think I’ll talk to him again. He tries to quote Scripture but he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
As Nigel became more and more animated, his son began to laugh and could possibly imagine himself talking about Eubank Jr in three decades.
Despite still holding a grudge, it seemed that Nigel was able to close the dispute through his son.
“I don’t know if Conor knows this, but this is my last training camp,” he added.
“I won’t be doing this anymore. I have three lovely children in Australia who need me. I have a lovely wife who needs me.”
The children should never have fought. Eubank Jr is seven years older and Conor Benn has operated two weight classes lower for most of his career.
But the appetite to see two icons, Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn, back in the boxing sphere alongside their sons was insatiable.
As characters, they couldn’t be further apart.
Eubank Sr is a performer and often diverts his son’s attention with his dance moves, while the older Benn is direct and to the point.
At the post-fight press conference, Nigel had changed out of his cream suit and into a blue Team Benn tracksuit.
He entered the room with his son and was followed by a group of about 20 people made up of family, friends and coaches.
Benn made sure to pay tribute to each of them after helping him through the “dark times” when he was banned from boxing after testing positive for a banned substance.
“There were a lot of people in the locker room that were there for me in those dark times,” Benn said.
“I wasn’t strong enough to do it alone and they gave me wisdom and helped carry me. The victory goes to them.”
