As bar-room brawls go, this ill-conceived fight surpassed all reasonable expectations.

Benn-Eubank, the 32-year throwback, was never going to match the technical mastery of their fathers, but both did their dads proud with effort and courage, making a stirring battle out of their contrasting styles.

Short of world class they may be, but they did their monumental best to make the bloodlust rise in a capacity crowd of 65,000.

They were still battering away at each other for some seconds after the final bell, Chris Jnr in the realisation he had a lead to hold on to, young Conor out of desperation at where he and his father must have known how the scoring stood.

Eubank Jnr rewarded his father for his forgiveness in turning up after all. Had he not reversed his decision to boycott the contest which he felt had been made only for money, he would have regretted not seeing his son’s moment of glory in an old-fashioned way.

This was a barnstormer rather than a classic. A night of some redemption for all the marketeering nonsense which had preceded it, if not forgiveness for Benn in the eyes of the public.

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Chris Eubank Jr defeated Conor Benn by unanimous decision after 12 demanding rounds

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Both boxers slugged it out gave every ounce of their being, soldiering on even when they looked on the verge of collapse

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Eubank Jr celebrated with his legendary father, who shocked the world by turning up

The gullible, the eternal optimist and the boxing addicts began filling the stadium four hours before the action. Bless ’em. The party night lads emerged later from the boozers to enthuse the atmosphere. Needed ’em. Just in case Chris and Conor failed to live up to the heroics of their fathers.

Nostalgia is a powerful emotion in an old game steeped in the memories of legends but it comes with a demanding legacy. Eubank Jnr and Benn the Younger did their spirited best to do their famous fathers justice.

Whether controversies concerning drugs, weight training and killer gloves were redeemed is another matter. But those issues spiced the big sell. No one could give either boxer anything but credit for their gallantry.

Eubank’s surprise decision to persist with the long, left lead and ease of movement which had made life easy for him for much of the fight and join a battle of the brutal made the occasion.

It also produced a fight difficult to score as it went on but to the credit of the judges, all three came to a correct decision of 116-112 in Eubank’s favour.

A delighted Eubank Jnr said after the fight: ‘We upheld the family name. Onwards and upwards.’

Eubank’s father, Chris, came out of the closet at the last minute to support his son having threatened he might not appear for a fight he never wanted his son to take. That sight lifted the crowd even wilder in support of Eubank Jnr.

As expected Benn tried to storm forward from the start, throwing lefts and rights at will, but was picked off by the longer reach of the bigger man. In the second round, both received a serious talking to from the referee to fight with fists, not words. When they resumed Benn flailed away but Eubank dominated with his left.

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This was a blood-and-guts bout which demanded every fibre of being from its competitors

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Eubank Jr looked sluggish at times but punished his opponent enough to win eight rounds

Benn felt the urgency to raise his tempo even higher and found some success in the third round. Several rights and a couple of combinations found the target to get him on the scorecard.

Benn looked to be punching harder but the bigger Eubank seemed to realise that Benn’s shots carried less power and started unleashing himself, as Eubank edged the fourth round.

The referee ordered them both to cut out the backchat at the start of round five. The Eubank majority in the crowd were disappointed when referee Victor Loughlin rightly ruled that Benn had slipped rather than been knocked down.

Eubank was showing no sign of being weakened by his weight loss and shook Benn with two substantial rights. Benn was still in the fight but needed to get more on the scorecard. As the fight entered its second half, there was no questioning Benn’s effort, nor Eubank’s superior skills.

The big question now was whether Eubank’s stamina had been weakened by his troubles on the scales as Benn tried desperately to outwork him. He was rewarded to some extent when he opened a cut beside Eubank’s right eye, either via fist or head.

The 10th round was worrying for Eubank even though the cut seemed to be repaired. Benn’s relentless aggression looked to be having the more damaging impact.

Eubank Snr looked concerned in his seat, and rightly so. He urged his son to go back to jab and move, however Chris Jr was too invested in the war to pay heed.

We were into all or nothing territory. Eubank looked on the point of exhaustion though Benn appeared the likelier to be dropped.

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Benn was more than a match after stepping up two weight classes, but took the majority of the bigger blows

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After being fairly even at the halfway stage, Eubank Jr pulled away in the latter stages

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Chris Eubank had warned about the dangers of the fight due to his son’s weight loss, but was in his corner

Eubank Sr breaks silence on arrival for son Jr’s bout with Conor Benn

Eubank Jnr said: ‘I knew I could do that, I just needed someone to bring that out of me and I didn’t think he would be the guy to do that. The fact our fathers did it years ago brings out a different spirit into you and that’s what we showed. I’m happy to have this man [Eubank Sr] back with me.’

For his part, Eubank Sr said: ‘He couldn’t move around the ring, he had to stand toe-to-toe and that is legendary behaviour in the ring. I am so proud of him.’

Benn’s father, Nigel said: ‘I thought he done really well. He’ll learn a lot from this, he’ll come back stronger.’

The promoters were gibbering about a rematch. If it goes ahead then it must be for its own sake and without surplus jeopardy for two brave men. Not for the money and not for the advertising of a computer game called Fatal Fury which gave its title to this fight.

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