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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Donald McRae

Conor Benn: ‘I understand Dad and I don’t blame him for his mistakes’

Conor Benn at the Matchroom Elite gym
Conor Benn at the Matchroom Elite gym near Romford: ‘I battle things every single day. As we all do.’ Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

The tears come from a wound deep inside Conor Benn. His eyes swim with hurt and his mouth crumples while he tries to stifle his crying. I reach out to touch the 26-year-old-fighter’s arm in sympathy as his wife, Victoria, consoles him too. Benn meets Chris Eubank Jr in the ring on Saturday night at the O2, in the most heavily hyped British fight of the year, but this is very different. Benn has been pulled back into his childhood and raw emotion tumbles through him.

“I battle things every single day,” Benn says, trying to gather himself. He wipes his eyes and looks up with a tangled smile. “As we all do.”

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