The Load-Out: Conor Benn exits middleweight chapter with career-high stock as Chris Eubank Jr. faces uncertain future

There's an old Jackson Browne song that closes - in part - the star's seminal record Running on Empty, one that feels fittingly apt for a Saturday night pack-up in north London.

Titled The Load-Out, it's a tribute to the singer's tour crew and the work nobody ever sees them do; the underappreciated cogs that keep his live machine on the road and purring.

It shines a light on part of the ecosystem that flies beneath the radar of such mega-move events, the hidden heroes that ensure such stories can continue to be told to the world.

Conor Benn might find a kinship in this world. After all, the star earned his way as a younger man, taking odd jobs and manual labour in Spain to earn himself his pocket money.

Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

Yet as reams of labourers begin to fold the chairs away around the edge of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 'The Destroyer' isn't going anywhere fast, gleefully stuck at the very centre.

Almost seven months on from a first career loss on this ground, Benn has earned revenge and the final word in a generational legacy with a superlative win over Chris Eubank Jr..

The star promised he would learn his lessons from April's defeat, that he would bring discipline to harness his drive, and that he would do what his father Nigel never could.

In the end, he delivered on his words and then some. His work with the jab found plenty of purchase on the body; his willingness to take blows in return furthered his chances.

The two-division leap to middleweight weighed metaphorically less the second time around, even as the star actually weighed more physically when he tipped the scales.

It is a result that draws a definitive line over a bond that began before his birth, over three decades ago in Birmingham. It is his own load-out - and one with major repercussions.

'No longer the present but speaks of the past'

Every boxer - heck, every sportsperson and team - knows you can only beat what is put in front of you. It is how you do so that frequently finds the measure of your powers.

Half a year is a long time, no matter your craft. For every surge, there can be stagnation. Eubank Jr. found it out in the most exhausting way possible on a difficult night in the ring.

At thirty-six, 'Nex Gen' is not longer that - arguably now, he is not even the present too. The manner of this loss - slowly exhausted and drained shy of the well - speaks of the past.

Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

When pressed on his future before this weekend, the star suggested he may finally secure those dream bouts at super-middleweight, the Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawfords.

Now, the shape of the landscape before him appears very different. The questions are arguably less about whether he should retire and more about why he shouldn't hang up the gloves.

Across his duology with Benn, Eubank Jr. has banked the biggest paydays of his professional career, in front of the largest crowds he has ever seen. He has scaled Olympus.

For all the talk of a transatlantic encounter, it is surely now toast. Crawford was ringside in north London. He will have seen nothing to persuade him of any such bout in 2026.

There's more. Eubank Jr. is about to become a father, due to welcome twins in the near future. His bond with father Chris Sr. has been mended after years of estrangement.

The absence of a major world title will sting. But, after another brutal weight cut, after another punishing performance, few would begrudge him his ride into the boxing sunset.

'Career-best scalp sees stock soar for star'

Benn's questions are a different matter. No matter what else he achieves in his career now, few efforts will live as long in the British boxing public's memory as this triumph.

But for the star, it is only the starting gun. Long before this rematch was officially set, he was adamant that his diversion up the ranks was merely that in pursuit of his goals.

Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing

April was a dead end, monochromatic, and Kansas. November has burst through the wall and laid out the yellow brick road, technicolour and Oz. It justifies his prolonged delay.

Now comes the further hard work. Benn has made no secret that he wants a world title, likely at his natural welterweight. With a career-best scalp, his stock has truly soared.

There is no unification right now. All four major belts are held by four different men. All four men are credible opponents who could well be happy to play with a stadium-filler.

Mario Barrios has long been namechecked. Rolly Romero offers an intriguing clash of styles. Brian Norman Jr. is the wildcard. Lewis Crocker brings the domestic factor.

Then there are contenders at the door, too. Jack Catterall, one fight below on the bill here, is still chasing a crown to call his own. Paddy Donovan should come calling again.

Whatever the future holds, Benn will take time to enjoy this result, to soak in the sweetness of a result that will mean more than he perhaps realises, even now in the afterglow.

On Running On Empty, The Load-Out segues into Browne's true closer, that old doo-wop standard Stay. At Tottenham tonight, one man certainly will - for just a little bit longer.

Watch Benavidez vs. Yarde live only on DAZN

David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde headlines a star-studded Ring IV fight card in Riyadh on Saturday, November 22. Watch it exclusively on DAZN PPV.

For more information, pricing, and to buy, click here.