It came as a bit of a surprise to this scribe when I read that there is serious talks taking place relating to a third encounter between these two boxing greats, now well past their athletic primes.
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The first mentions of such a spectacle came back at the tale end of last year, yet talks surrounding the two men getting in the ring for a third time have persisted, leading me to believe that is being seriously considered by both parties.
The question is would they both get licensed? Would a TV company show it? I’m not sure to be perfectly honest. Also, who would promote it? Perhaps the promotion side of things would be handled by Eubank himself, he recently obtained a promoters license.
Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank are two of the super-middleweight division’s great warriors in their day, UK boxing royalty would be a fair remark, two men who shared the ring with each other on furious occasions – exciting fans the world over.
But now, Benn aged 52 and Eubank aged 49, have been removed from their active boxing careers for quite some time and although the two have kept in good physical condition since retiring, a potential clash again this far into their retirements would likely cause a lot of concern for their loyal fans.
Health risks would certainly come up as a question for some. My main stickling point as well is this would be what do both guys have to prove realistically?
For example, if you look back at a recent prolonged return match between two greats of the ring that took place between Roy Jones Jr and Bernard Hopkins back in 2010 (17 years after their first bout), although Hopkins won, the fight was not viewed with any considerable credibility among the boxing public, more just a rematch between two greats of the ring that took place long after it should of done.
Fast forward to 2016 and there has been reports this week on Sky Sports that Nigel Benn has offered Chriss Eubank a 50-50 purse split along with wanting their 3rd bout to take place at Wembley.
Granted, both guys are still names in the boxing world but would they sell out Wembley? I sincerely doubt there would be sufficient appetite from fight fans to warrant such a lavish idea.
Both Eubank and Benn by all accounts are financially secure and have plenty of work related activity going on in their lives, and furthermore, are involved with both of their respective son’s new professional boxing careers.
So what could be the movitaton behind such an endevour? Perhaps it’s just to settle an old score for Benn, maybe the competitive edge between the two just never went away. After all, they are fighters, competition is indoctrinated into their DNA, makeup and who they are as people.
Two protagonists who gave the world entertainment for so many years in what was a fantastic era for British and Irish boxing, that also included the likes of Steve Collins and Michael Watson at 168lbs during their time.
Perhaps it is best to leave the rivalry in the past, where it is still savored and enjoyed by lovers of the sweet science, but hey, when it comes to boxing, very few things surprise me anymore.
On that note, lets take a stroll down memory lane to their first epic encounter in Birmingham back in 1990. What a fight (hat tip to the Boxing Fights YouTube account):
The post Would People Watch Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Fight A 3rd Time? appeared first on %%Boxing News and Views/%%.
