Chris Eubank Jnr and Conor Benn came head-to-head in London on Tuesday at their grand arrivals ahead of their fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and their meeting passed without incident.

The bitter rivals simmered but saved any bad blood for later in the week ahead of a fight that is more than two years in the making.

Both were asked about the weight their fight was going to be contested at. Eubank Jnr has been boxing at middleweight and the majority of Benn’s work has been at welterweight. They will meet at the middleweight limit of 160lbs, and the 35-year-old Eubank Jnr said: “I keep hearing this two weight classes thing; he’s not coming up two weight classes. His last fight was at 156lbs [Benn weighed 150.5lbs against Peter Dobson in February 2024]. He’s putting four pounds on. He hasn’t been a welterweight for three years. This fight isn’t about size or weight. It’s about skill. It’s about dedication. It’s about expertise and all those areas I excel in.”

Benn’s past fight at 147lbs ended in a two-round stoppage of the South African Chris van Heerden in April 2022.

“It don’t concern me in the slightest,” Benn said of the weight. “I’ve done everything I can. I’ve prepared hard and I’ve left no stone unturned. I ain’t too concerned.”

Asked how personal their rivalry has become, Benn, 28, said: “It’s always personal; every fight I have is personal. People say it’s strictly business – it’s never business. If you’re trying to put your hands on me and render me unconscious, it’s never business. It’s always personal… this one has a little more history to it, shall we say. I’m excited to go in there and do a number on him.”

Eubank Jnr insisted the deciding factor would be his experience in big fights. 

“I’ve forgotten more things than he knows, and that will show on the night – the experience, the dedication, and the will,” he said. “These will be the deciding factors… I will be like a matador in there and Conor Benn will be the bull. I’m calm. I’m very at peace with where I am in my life and where I am in this fight. I really believe that everything I’ve trained for will come to fruition.”

Eubank Jnr predicted “domination in every department”.

Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn forecast a fight week that might be quiet until Friday’s weigh-in, and contended that if either fighter was at a disadvantage by the weight it was his boxer, Benn, having to move up rather than Eubank Jnr having to toil at 160, where his past four fights have been.

Hearn was widely criticised in 2022 when Benn failed two tests for performance enhancing drugs ahead of their scheduled bout at the O2 Arena elsewhere in London. Hearn explored ways for the fight to go on, but ultimately it was pulled.

“I can’t believe we’re four days away – I mean, is it actually going to happen?” the promoter joked on DAZN.

“Camp couldn’t have gone any better for Conor Benn. I’m sure Chris Eubank Jnr has worked hard, and they’ve got it all to do on Saturday night. I think there’s going to be a huge amount of pressure. Both guys have been involved in big nights before, but nothing like this.

“Probably the experience side will benefit Chris Eubank; I think he’s been around a long time; I think he’s been part of a lot of big fights. For Conor, it’s probably about keeping a lid on emotions this week. They’ve done such great work in training camp, the last thing you want to do is just come here and ruin it all by getting your nervous energy up and getting pumped up… I think you’ll see a fairly low-key Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. I think the weigh-in will erupt on Friday, but if I’m in Conor Benn’s training team now, I’m saying, ‘Nice and calm. You’ve done the hard work. Let’s wait ‘til Saturday’.” 

Hearn believes Benn will weigh in at around 157-158lbs on Friday and go up to 165lbs. He predicted that Eubank Jnr would be 175lbs before the first bell.

“The difference is the mentality between the two fighters,” Hearn added. “Eubank’s a competitor; he wants to win. But he doesn’t want to win like Conor Benn does… I’ve never seen anyone who wants to win so bad. He has pushed himself to the absolute limit.”