The Chris Eubank Jr. vs Conor Benn card has well and truly begun as Chris Billam-Smith and Brandon Glanton have gone the distance.
Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn will face off in a legacy-defining fight for family honor tonight.
The undercard features a trilogy between Anthony Yarde, Liam Smith‘s return against Aaron McKenna and Viddal Riley vs Chev Clarke, who defeated Ellis Zorro with a brutal KO.
The card began with Chris Billam-Smith vs Brandon Glanton, as Billam-Smith hoped to return to winning ways after a loss to Gilberto Ramirez.
Chris Billam-Smith and Brandon Glanton apologize to one another after slug-fest
Billam-Smith opened the card against Glanton in a fight that was filled with more personal resentment than previously expected.
Glanton had some choice words for Billam-Smith ahead of their fight, suggesting he was nothing like his ‘Gentleman’ nickname suggested, and that he snubbed him of a handshake years ago.
Glanton, who lost to David Light, followed up his comments with the suggestion that he would give Billam-Smith brain damage, a comment many found highly distasteful.
He apologized for his comments ahead of their fight, but apologized once more in the ring after the final bell.
Billam-Smith, who predicts Eubank Jr. will win in the main event, apologized too, stating if he did snub him of a handshake it was never out of malice.
Billam-Smith won a unanimous points decision.
Viddal Riley and Chev Clarke fight in another cruiserweight clash next
The next fight will see undefeated Viddal Riley, who debuted in 2018, face Cheavon ‘C4’ Clarke, who fell just shy of the European title in his latest fight.
Clarke, now 10-1, has operated at the higher level, though Riley, 12-0, is a highly-touted boxer with an impressive skillset.
It remains to be seen who will come out on top, and whether the winner will go on to face a Glanton or a Billam-Smith in the future.