Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn are writing a story built on pressure versus pain.

After the fireworks of February, Thursday’s final press conference at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was a much more “parliamentary” affair. There were no eggs, no fisticuffs, nothing of the like. Instead, it felt like both bruisers, locked in an inherited rivalry, are fully committed to settling this in the ring and only the ring.

Much has been made of the weight chosen for the bout. Benn, 28, is moving up two divisions from welterweight, something that has more than drawn the ire of Chris Sr, who has branded the fight a “disgrace” for fear his son could end up doing serious and permanent damage to his much smaller opponent. But facing the prospect of a unique rehydration clause that will lead Eubank Jr, 35, into “unchartered waters”, it’s the natural middleweight who is feeling the agony.

“The weight is painful, I’m in pain right now,” Eubank Jr admitted, facing the prospect of having to weigh in on fight day for the first time in his 14-year professional career. “I’ll be in even more pain tonight and tomorrow morning.” Benn who had just branded Eubank Jr “fat boy” and recommended he focus on getting the weight off, interjected: “And the worst pain you’ve ever been in, Saturday night.”

Eubank Jr was unfazed by this jibe from his fierce rival because pain is something he’s become far too accustomed to. He continued: “The question I ask myself is, ‘What is pain?’

“I have a 31-year-old brother, he is buried in the desert in Dubai. That’s pain. I have his son, Raheem, three years old, he asks: ‘Why can’t I see my daddy, why can’t he take me to school?’ That’s pain. My own father, a man I idolised for my entire life, doesn’t speak to me. We haven’t spoken for years. He thinks I’m a disgrace.

“These things are what pain is to me. If I can deal with all of these trials and tribulations, then the weight-cut and the rehydration clause… these are all things that are not an issue.”

This was far too real for Benn to hit back with any sort of prickly quip. He sat there in silence for a few seconds, while his legendary father Nigel – who settled his own bitter in-ring grudge with Chris Sr over three decades ago – nodded in a moment of respect and empathy. It was a rare glimpse of humility from the ever-cocky Eubank Jr, who demonstrated that his emotional resilience goes far beyond the world of boxing.

For the rest of the press conference, however, Eubank Jr continued to stage his attacks in the theatre of mental warfare. After doing his usual spiel and refusing to let Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn get a word in, talk shifted to the pressure Benn will be under upon his return from suspension.

Of course, this bout isn’t just built off the feud of their fathers. Eubank Jr and Benn have written their own tale, which was meant to conclude in October 2022, only for the fight to fall apart on short notice upon the revelation that Benn had returned two adverse drug-test findings, leading him to be banned from boxing in Britain until recently.

Eubank Jr claims the embarrassment and fear of being called a “drug cheat” led Benn to flee the country, who opted to conduct his training camp in Mallorca. With the intention of “getting the kid out of boxing”, he said: “Conor speaks about pressure and dealing with it, but there’s a reason why he had his training camp in Spain. The kid had to flee his own country to prepare for this fight.

“He knew that he couldn’t handle the pressure of walking these UK streets and having people shout ‘drug cheat’ and egg jokes. So, he hid himself away. Now he’s back and thinks he can use me to get back into the good graces. I haven’t fled, I’ve been on these streets, I’ve been and spoken to kids.”

Benn, who boasts an undefeated 23-0 record, had already cited that coming out to a “packed O2” at the age of 19 threw him in the deep end when it came to pressure. “This is what I do”, he reminded Eubank Jr. “There is no pressure. I’ve had the fight over 100 times in my head.

“I’m not going to lower myself to Chris and go back-and-forth. I’m excited to go back in there and put hands on him on Saturday. We’re not at school now I don’t need to call him names.”

Eubank Jr then provided the soundbite of the night: “You will be at school on Saturday. I’m going to be the headmaster and you will be in detention.”

Benn has been through “two years of hell” to get back to the biggest stage, where he’ll hope to settle the score of his deep family feud. It’s currently 1-0 in favour of the Eubanks, with Nigel only able to secure a split draw when he tried to avenge his infamous stoppage loss to Chris Sr back in 1993. Now, Benn has the chance for almighty redemption by beating – and potentially retiring – the son of his dad’s greatest foe.

The pressure is very much on, and it could be felt in the stare-off as the pair locked eyes for what felt like an eternity. Nothing was done to even hint at jeopardising this weekend’s main event – both fighters are laser-focused on going to war in the ring, where there will be no beefed-up security guards to hold them back.

“I won’t be losing to a man named Eubank,” Benn concluded. With a sold-out 65,000 crowd watching on, we will see if he can live up to that vow on Saturday.

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