News

Conor Benn put on a dominant performance to earn revenge over bitter rival Chris Eubank Jr and seal a unanimous decision victory in their rematch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Eubank, who won on points when they first fought in April, looked shot-shy throughout and had no answer to a heavy-handed Benn.

Benn held a wide lead going into the final round when he put Eubank down twice before triumphantly stepping up on to the ropes to celebrate when the final bell rang.

The judges scored it 119-107, 116-110 and 118-108 in Benn’s favour.

Benn, who moved up two divisions to make this fight happen, achieved something his father Nigel was unable to do in the 1990s – earning victory against a Eubank.

He has been labelled as a brawler throughout his career but proved he has a lot more to offer in sealing this win.

Benn, 29, said he carried too much emotion into April’s fight following a prolonged two-and-a-half-year build-up after serving a ban for failing a voluntary doping test.

The family feud began almost exactly 35 years ago when Chris Eubank Sr beat Nigel Benn on 18 November 1990 before the pair fought to a draw three years later.

Despite their being no title on the line, the magnitude of the rivalry was enough to draw out some big names from the world of sport and entertainment.

Actors Jeremy Piven and Pierce Brosnan, musicians Emma Bunton and Rod Stewart, and ex-Arsenal footballer Thierry Henry were among the stars watching from ringside.

Trying to recapture the magic of the first bout was always going to be a predicament and it fell short of achieving a sell-out.

The Eubanks’ arrival – both were expected this time – also provided an interesting insight into public opinion as boos rang out around the stadium. It was all cheers, though, as Benn was shown stepping out of his car.

Benn made his entrance to resounding cheers and alongside father Nigel. They were accompanied to the ring by a percussion troop, who started off with Phil Collins’ ‘In the Air Tonight’, before transitioning into a remix of ‘Ready or Not’ by the Fugees.

Defending champion Luke Littler came from behind to beat Josh Rock and reach the semi-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.

Littler, who will usurp Luke Humphries at the top of the world rankings for the first time if he reaches the final, averaged 105.18 in a 16-12 victory.

World champion Littler had trailed his Northern Irish opponent 9-6 but the 18-year-old won seven legs in succession to turn the match around.

Littler will play Danny Noppert in the last four on Sunday after the Dutchman defeated German Lukas Wenig 16-8 in his quarter-final.

Littler has yet to lose at the tournament but it was Rock who edged into a 3-2 lead on Saturday night after an 84 checkout.

He led 7-6 when Littler missed a double in the 14th leg, going on to win against the throw on his way to opening a three-leg lead.

But after Littler found another level to move ahead 13-9, he did not falter despite three missed attempts at double 10 to seal the victory.

Mark Selby reached the final of the Champion of Champions tournament by beating Neil Robertson 6-2 in a match which included a 63-minute frame decided on the final black.

England’s Selby, playing in front of his home crowd at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, largely controlled matters against the Australian to set up a final against world number one Judd Trump.

A grinding seventh frame which had lasted well over half an hour appeared to be heading to a conclusion when Robertson fluked the pink, but he then missed the black – only for Selby to miss a simple pot.

Four-time world champion Selby also made heavy weather of a 45-minute eighth frame, but came through it to set up a meeting of the only two men to have played in every edition of the Champion of Champions since 2013.

Selby won the opening two frames, including the second with a break of 127 to extend his record of scoring a century in every tournament he has played this season.

Robertson missed a simple red in frame one and was on the back foot thereafter.

Selby moved 4-1 ahead with an 80, but Robertson responded with a 104 – more than double his next highest break in the match – before the epic seventh frame.

Northern Ireland’s Conor Bradley says there is “no point” being intimidated by the level of opposition they will face in their play-off for the 2026 World Cup.

Defeat by Slovakia in Kosice on Friday night ensured Michael O’Neill’s side will go into those pivotal fixtures in March by virtue of winning their Nations League group last year rather than as the higher seed afforded to runners-up from qualifying groups.

As such, in Thursday’s draw they will be paired against one of the highest ranked sides in the hat for the semi-finals, a group which currently would include the likes of Italy, Turkey and Poland.

“I think we’ve come on quite a lot in the last few campaigns, the Nations League and this [qualifying] campaign and I think we just need to try and keep continuing on that upwards trajectory,” said Liverpool defender Bradley.

Pot Three and Pot Four teams in the play-offs are automatically away from home in semi-finals, something Bradley acknowledges will be an additional challenge.

The side have won just two competitive fixtures on their travels since O’Neill returned as manager in December 2022 with those victories coming against San Marino and Luxembourg.

Bradley described the difficulty of winning away from home as his “biggest learning” across 29 international caps to date.

“Any game where you come away from home, it’s always going to be so difficult but I think the more you get experience of these situations the more you can definitely learn from it and hopefully we can do that,” he said.

“It’s nice to get a play-off. Obviously it’s going to be brilliant.

Ultimately the margins in Group A came down to Slovakia beating Germany at home while Northern Ireland were beaten twice by the four-time World Cup winners.

Indeed, while it matters little in terms of the final table, Northern Ireland were much more convincing in their 2-0 victory over Slovakia at Windsor Park last month than their hosts were in Kosice on Friday night.

After Tomas Bobcek’s stoppage-time winner, frustrations appeared to boil over with words exchanged between the two sets of players following the final whistle, while O’Neill said opposing manager Francesco Calzona did not shake his hand after the game.

“It was disappointing, really. I think when we beat them in Belfast, I think we had a bit more class about us after the game,” Bradley said.

“They were sort of giving it a bit more. It’s disappointing but I’m sure we’ll see them again.”

Midfielder Isaac Price was equally unimpressed with Slovakia’s response to the win which kept alive their hopes of qualifying not just for the play-offs but automatically at the expense of Germany for the tournament in North America next summer.

“I think some of their players had a lot to say especially ones that didn’t play,” said the West Bromwich Albion player. “I think if you’re playing in the game and you want to have a pop then that’s fine, but if you’re a third choice goalkeeper and you’re not playing, I think just be quiet.

“They had a few words to say. They looked overly excited but that’s a compliment to us. I think they took that as a really big result and it is a big result for them.