Saturday’s evenly matched middleweight grudge match can lighten the shadow cast by Conor Benn’s failed drug tests
British boxing’s first significant fight of the year, between Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith in Manchester on Saturday night, is a superior matchup to the controversial and postponed bout which cast such deep shadows over a troubled sport last October. Three months ago, Eubank Jr was meant to face Conor Benn in a heavily hyped catchweight promotion built on the enmity between their fathers over 30 years ago.
Eubank Jr is a middleweight, who has also campaigned relatively successfully at super-middle (168lb), while Benn is a welterweight (147lb). The difference in size meant that the fight should never have been agreed, even at a compromised weight of 157lb, but money always wipes away good sense and intelligent competition in boxing. After the staggering amount of attention generated in the buildup there was, in the end, only disappointment and outrage at the way in which the promoters had tried to press ahead with the fight despite the fact that Benn tested positive for clomiphene, a performance-enhancing drug that can boost testosterone levels in men.
