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Eubank Jr vs Benn: Breaking down the numbers behind one of British boxing’s biggest grudge matches
Chris Eubank Jr. and Connor Benn are scheduled to fight in one of the UK’s most anticipated grudge matches on Saturday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
So far, the two have demonstrated how boxing is not just a sport of gladiatorial prowess, but one of mental warfare.
Emotions have been running high and tempers have flared - but when its boiled down, on fight night, boxing is a sport of numbers.
So how do these two compare on the stats sheet?
Experience
Eubank Jr. brings a significant experience advantage into the fight with 37 bouts so far in his career compared to 23 for ‘The Destroyer’.
Across these bouts, Eubank Jr. has also boxed more than double the number of rounds as his rival, accruing 234 rounds.
In addition to his overall experience advantage, Eubank averages 6.3 rounds per fight, whereas Benn is 4.3 rounds.
Meaning Eubank has nearly boxed an extra two rounds per fight, which is hard to ignore – it’s an extra two rounds of perfecting his ring craft and ability to perform under the lights – something Benn has not been asked to do on this scale before.
Who holds the power?
Both men hold immense power in both hands passed down by their fathers and the fight looks poised to be a firefight if we are to believe the promises of both camps.
Eubank Jr. has a career knockout percentage of 73.5 per cent, evidence of his world class power, especially maintaining such a high percentage for over a decade against elite level opposition.
Benn has some astonishing highlight reel knockouts displaying ruthless aggression and accuracy, for example, against Chris Algieri and Samuel Vargas.
However, he only has a knockout percentage of 60.8 per cent - a sizeable deficit to his opponent.
It is also worth noting that all of Benn’s knockouts were in the welterweight division. In his only two fights over 150lbs he was unable to dispatch Rodolfo Orozco and Peter Dobson.
What do the punch stats say?
To truly compare these two and paint a picture of what the upcoming fight between them might look like, a deeper dive into the CompuBox stats for their previous bouts feels necessary.
The Jab
Benn enters the fight with a 3-inch height and a 4 ½-inch reach disadvantage, so the assumption is that the jab will be a weapon Eubank Jr. will want to deploy to tame the pressure of an advancing Benn.
Against Szeremeta, half of the shots that Eubank Jr. threw were jabs and 76.1 per cent of those that landed were to the head.
In contrast, Benn landed at total of 246 shots on Peter Dobson at the beginning of last year and 42.6 per cent of them were jabs, preferring to step in with power shots and close the gap to the taller fighter.
CompuBox
Who is more accurate?
Accuracy is essential for any fighter - missing the target wastes significantly more energy than landing and with the power these two hold, the first man to find the target with a power shot could end the fight.
‘The Destroyer’ takes the advantage on accuracy with 44.6 per cent of his shots landing on Dobson whereas Eubank could only manage 40.7 per cent accuracy.
Benn increases his advantage regarding accuracy when you split his work into power shots and jabs.
He scored with 44.5 per cent of the 317 power shots he threw and 44.7 per cent of his jabs – versus Eubank Jr. who only landed 38.7 per cent of his power shots and 42.7 per cent of his jabs.
CompuBox
Activity level
Being able to throw punches in bunches will not win you a fight - but if those punches are educated and accurate against an opponent who cannot match the pace, it’s a recipe for success.
Comparing both of their previous fights, Benn, who has become known for his high-pressure unrelenting style, averaged to throw 2.4 and land 1.4 more punches per round than Eubank Jr.
In a sport of fine margins this can be the difference between victory and defeat.
- Benn total punches thrown divided by 12 = 20.5
- Benn total punched thrown divided by 12 = 46
- Eubank Jr. punches thrown divded by 7 = 44.6
- Eubank Jr. punches landed divided by 7 = 18.1
Body Work
The biggest difference between Eubank Jr. and Benn, statistically, is their body punching. Benn boxes with a much heavier bias on working the body which has interesting implications for the fight as a way for Benn to slow the feet of Eubank Jr. if he can get past his jab.
Only 23 per cent of the punches that Eubank landed on Szerameta were to the body, a surprising lack of variety for someone with Eubank Jr.’s experience and pedigree.
Benn nearly doubles that total landing 39.8 per cent of his shots to the body.
Watch three incredible fight nights in one week only on DAZN
Fight fans are in for a treat at the end of April / start of May, with three amazing fight cards within seven days - and DAZN PPV is the only place to watch them all.
- April 26: Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn
- May 2: Ryan Garcia vs Rolly Romero; Devin Haney vs Jose Ramirez; Teofimo Lopez vs Arnold Barboza Jr.
- May 3: Canelo Alvarez vs William Scull
Arch rivals Eubank Jr and Benn finally go head-to-head to start the exhilarating week, with PPV prices at £19.95 in the UK; $24.99 in the US; €24.99 in Europe.
Garcia vs. Romero and Canelo vs. Scull fight nights follow, which will both be exclusively on DAZN. Fight fans can purchase either fight individually for $59.99 US; £/€21.99 UK/IRE; ROW - $24.99 per PPV or take advantage of the DAZN Knockout Weekend Bundle where both fights can be purchased for $90 US; £34.99 in the UK and €34.99 in Europe .
