Kell Brook is confident Chris Eubank Jr can get the job done against Conor Benn this weekend.
However, the 38-year-old former IBF welterweight champion from Sheffield believes he’d have both Brits’ numbers if he faced them in his heyday.
Eubank Jr meets Benn on Saturday night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in what is one of boxing’s most highly anticipated bouts of the year.
After fighting at welterweight and super welterweight, Benn is fighting at middleweight for the first time in his career.
He has declared he will get Eubank Jr out inside four rounds to right the wrongs of his father’s defeat to Chris Eubank Sr 35 years ago.
Eubank Jr, on the other hand, is cutting weight down to 160 pounds for the grudge match, admitting the process has been tough.
The 35-year-old has faced some brutal weight cuts in his career, considering his size, and looked deflated when trying to make the 157 lbs limit for his cancelled bout with Benn three years ago.
He will need to make the limit this week, but is unable to rehydrate with a clause in place preventing him from bulking beyond 170lbs by fight night.
Brook recognises weight may be an issue for Eubank Jr, but he is still backing the IBO middleweight titleholder to be too much for a less experienced Benn.
“I’ve got Eubank to win,” Brook told talkSPORT Boxing. “I think just with his size, but I don’t know because the weight’s an issue.
“What’s it going to have took out of Eubank when he gets in the ring?
“We’re going to have to wait and see, but I just slightly favour towards Eubank in this fight just because he’s boxed on a bigger level.
“For me, Conor’s not really boxed at that level as of yet.”
Brook hesitated even less when talkSPORT pundit Gareth A. Davies asked him how he would fare against Benn in his prime welterweight days.
“I’d smash them both,” he said. “Absolutely I’d smash them both…it’s in my blood…I’m excited for the fight.”
IBO super lightweight champion Adam Azim was alongside Brook, as they watched Ben Whittaker finish Liam Cameron in Birmingham on Easter Sunday, but he disagreed, saying Benn’s freshness will get him over the line.
“I’m going for Conor Benn,” the 22-year-old said. “Obviously, this is a 50-50 fight.
“Eubank obviously is the bigger fighter, but I just feel like Conor Benn is a more fresher fighter, and I feel like he could get him out of there.”
Eubank Jr has fought twice since losing to Liam Smith in Manchester in January 2023, defeating Smith in a rematch before overcoming Kamil Szeremeta.
Benn, 28, went to America for his only fight in 2023 after being testing positive for female fertility drug clomifene, which led to a ban from competing in the UK.
He went on to defeating Rodolfo Orozco by unanimous decision before returning to the ring in February 2024, scoring another unanimous decision win over Peter Dobson in Las Vegas — his most recent appearance to date.
