Chris Eubank Jr is statistically one of the vital elusive fighters on the earth.
‘Next Gen’ returns to motion on April 26 in a long-awaited grudge match with Conor Benn on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The pair were initially set to square off in October 2022.
Nonetheless, the fight was cancelled after Benn tested positive for the selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) clomifene in two pre-fight drug tests.
Benn was later cleared of any wrongdoing by the National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP), allowing the bitter rivals to finally settle their rating.
‘The Destroyer’ is moving as much as middleweight (160lbs) for the fight while a 10lbs rehydration clause has been inserted into their contracts to level the playing field.
Eubank Jr is a natural middleweight, who has competed as high as super middleweight (168lbs) while Benn has spent nearly all of his profession at welterweight (147lbs).
But it surely is not just size Benn has to fret about, as landing a clean shot on Eubank Jr is a challenge in itself.
In line with CompuBox punch stats, Eubank Jr absorbs the joint smallest amount of power punches in boxing with 4.2 per round.
The pugilist he shares pole position with is WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson, who’s widely considered to be probably the most defensively adept fighter in the game today.
Eubank Jr also scores well on the smallest amount of total punches absorbed per round at 7.2.
Only Stevenson (5.4), Demetrius Andrade (6.2), Luis Ortiz (6.5), Jai Opetaia (6.8), Dmitry Bivol (6.8) and Jack Catterall (7.1) place higher.
Fewest opponent power punches landed per round
Chris Eubank Jr (4.2)
Shakur Stevenson (4.2)
Jack Catterall (4.5)
Dmitry Bivol (4.5)
Daniel Dubois (4.7)
Luis Ortiz (4.8)
Anthony Joshua (4.8)
Ryan Garcia (5.2)
Demetrius Andrade (5.2)
Tyson Fury (5.3)
Benn doesn’t feature in the highest 10 of either stat, but by comparison, he took a mean of 12.1 total blows (8.75 power punches) per round during his last outing against Peter Dobson in February 2024.
Benn was in a position to take this fight, and one other one in September 2023 against Rodolfo Orozco under a US license, after his suspension was briefly lifted in July 2023 by the NADP.
The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) had the suspension reinstated following a successful appeal in May 2024.
Nonetheless, the NADP cleared him again in November 2024 after launching a second investigation.
This time, the BBBofC accepted the NADP ruling and the Board is now expected to re-issue Benn’s national license ahead of his upcoming clash in London.
Benn voluntarily forfeited his license within the fallout of his originally scheduled bout with Eubank Jr.
