Conor Benn: Zuffa Boxing, Chris Eubank Rivalry & Eddie Hearn Fallout | The Overlap Exclusive

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1:53Right, right let's go for it. I tell you what, it's a trek out here from London. It's nice and quiet though isn't it? Hey let me take you off. About an hour on a bike, I just came on the bikes. Oh nice, yeah yeah yeah. He was just telling me a story, the guy he brought, he took your dad to a question of sport like 15 years ago or something. Oh mad man. Yeah yeah yeah, small world innit. Yeah. You good? Yeah all good mate, all good. It's nice here though. It's quiet. No, definitely not. I wouldn't fancy it either. But this is like my forever home. It's beautiful. I'm a kid. You're never going to move.

2:21No, this is not done, I think. Is this where you came from? Where were you coming from originally? Mallorca. Mallorca? Excuse me. Yeah, yeah. You speak fluent Spanish? Yeah, I do. I went over there for four months. I got sacked after four months as a football manager. I did pick up the language. Can you? Not a word? Nothing? No, nothing. Go on, speak a bit for me. Hola, ¿cómo estás? Yeah. No? No, nothing. My dad's been there for 12 years. He don't know I was at the time. He's just not my cup of tea. You don't like him because of... I think he's arrogant. It was a bold move. And it's not comfortable.

2:56Change is never comfortable. It's all I've ever known for 10 years. For me, it's just about destroy, destroy, destruct, destruct. You had a fight with your dad, didn't you, at one point, did you? Yeah, he chinned me, yeah. He chinned you? Yeah, he chinned me, yeah. He chipped my tooth, bled my nose. It wasn't great. I burn around 4 ,000 calories a day. You must be absolutely starving all the time. I am, yeah. I used to have my Chinese on a Saturday night after a game. Stop running in with you. My love for Eddie, my love for Matrim will always be there. You know, right now I'm thinking about how I'm going to iron this geezer out in four weeks.

3:27Thinking about how I'm going to absolutely destroy him and dismantle him. I was scared to go to sleep at night. Because I knew I'd had to wake up to it the next day.

3:45For me, my upbringing in Spain was very abnormal. Yeah. But it was very normal for me. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? Because it was like, the life I lived over there, looking back now, you go, what a blessed upbringing I had. But to me, it was just my norm, my reality. I went to a school of about 30 kids. What, in a whole school? Yeah, very religious school. Right. Christian school. Right. Yeah, so my upbringing. In what way, going to, like, sort of... It was like just heavy on repentance and fear and, yeah, it's religion, you know, power control. Was that, you wanted to go there or your dad wanted you to go there?

4:25No, it was just a strong Christian school, obviously, with the way the world is. My parents just wanted me to be ground-rooted in faith, which obviously I am now. I'm a man of faith, a man of God. But it was, yeah, it was a very strict school. Very strict school. It taught me well, discipline. Did you resent your mum and dad for it at the time? Or a little bit old? No, because I didn't know. You didn't know? No, I did as I got older. No, not really. I didn't like the school, no. But as I got older, it was... You learn to understand why. Yeah, yeah. You know, and I think sometimes parents can do things out of fear for their kids.

4:59Yeah, yeah. And project that on them a little bit. Rather than letting them find their own way and trusting God that they're going to be okay. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? So, but it was strict, yeah. Bias made me know. Strict in what way? like just discipline and sort of time keeping or all of it all of it I had the tensions almost every day do you know what I mean or maybe it was just me just like what's getting into trouble then no not fighting or nothing like that no no just like silly things like you know forgetting could be like forgetting your knife and fork at home for not wanting to finish your food for not putting a sticker on something you know so it was Spanish speaking or both but I learned Spanish from my friends right But the discipline taught me well.

5:41Yeah, yeah. I didn't realise that the discipline that was then has made me now be the disciplined athlete I am now. Because I was... Who was sticking my car? It was Al, wasn't it?

5:55To be fair, but obviously I've been watching the last few fights, you're fit as flight, fucking... There's one thing about me in my career, you'll never get a half-heart of Twindlens and draw. Yeah, yeah. It's like... Even the first one against you, it was like, it was brutal. Do you know what it was? He was just, I was just angry. Yeah. He got in my head well done to him. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? He'd done what he needed to do. He used his tactics well. Yeah. He used his experience. He would get in your head though. Yeah, he would get in my head. And he probably still would now. Yeah. But it was, for me, just, there was a lot of anger in there.

6:31Yeah. And I could do. The anger from, what, the build-up or the whole thing? It's the whole thing. I don't know if you I don't know yeah I don't know if you followed the whole I did yeah it was like you won't believe it so I back in 1993 is the second fight at all traffic 93 yeah I met the fight yeah okay I met the fight how was it so I was in the director's box and there was a bit I should have got closer I should have been ringside but obviously it was a draw who won that you should have won but you know something I was there it's the first boxing first fight I'd ever been to was Old Trafford yeah yeah I was the first one you went to as well yeah it was massive it's obviously massive but going back to the school stuff the discipline and stuff yeah that's the one thing that I think the only thing I admire most because I mean to fail I have to admire every box that goes through everything that they go through because compared to our sport it's just different but the idea that your dad's done what he's done and for you to retain that hunger I think do you see that as your greatest achievement because it must be hard You've grown up, obviously, with probably more than most.

7:39You've not grown up in the sort of circumstances your dad has, and you've still retained that hunger. That's incredible, that, to be able to maintain that. I didn't maintain it. I didn't ask for it. I saw something that I just was born with. I can't give you a reason as to why. I think my dad made it very clear to me as a kid, and it's something I'm working on now. I've got my own kids. The life you're living now is because of me. When you're old enough, you've got to go and get it yourself. How would you do that now with your kids? Yeah, I would struggle because I want my kids to have everything, the best of everything the world offers them.

8:11Whereas my dad didn't. My dad, again, was a disciplinarian. He was very firm. He was very strict. But he was firmer with me and stricter with me than any of the other kids. And I never knew why. And I sit down and I go, this is what I needed. I needed it. I needed the harsh love. I needed the disciplinarian. I needed the, are you five minutes late? Do you get it now from him still or not? no he's soft now he's soft now in two fights looking at you both you look like you're just like best mates look like so happy together in each other it weren't always like that no it weren't always like that no it was really bad from about 14 to 18 like just not great for what reason?

8:54yeah my dad when you're becoming a man yeah and then you have your dad who's a disciplinarian shows you no love is very strict with you very harsh with you yeah you sort of then go well do you actually even love me and it was it was a it was a real big thing for me as i was as i was getting older and and then i got in trouble one time at 18 i got in trouble rebelled heavily the house just you know just being young just being young and um he said and i thought i'm going home now i'm really in trouble now this is like the time when the time when yeah you know i i deserve to be in trouble and i deserve to be um punished yeah he went son i love you and we're gonna get through this together and then it just changed almost overnight yeah i was like oh you do love me and then and then ever since then he's just been he's my hero yeah and i can get it i look at him and i understand it all now but it's only when you come of age you then learn to understand and it's a shame it's always almost too late because I'd moved to come to England at that time and it was like, oh man, I wish I knew this when I was younger.

10:08I wouldn't have wasted all them years trying to rebel against my dad. Do you know what I mean? And now we are where we are and it's like, mate, he loves me, man. And what is he doing with you now? Now? He's here on Tuesday. He comes over like, comes over four times a year, three, four times a year, He stays for a few months. Drives me and my missus mad. Drives my missus more mad than me, but I love all the chaos. Does he stay in the house with you? He stays in the main house, yeah. So, yeah, yeah, yeah. He stays in the main house and she can deal with him then. But he's... You know when my dad's just being there?

10:45He is a reminder to me of who I am. Yeah. Whose son I am. What genes I have in me. And it fills me with confidence, my dad just being there. He ain't got to do nothing. Yeah. He ain't got to say nothing. Just him being there reminds me of whose son I am. You're so proud of him, aren't you? It's unbelievable, eh? Yeah. I'm extremely, because he's my dad. He's like, how many kids can say, yeah, their dad's like the top G? Like, he's the OG. You know, not many. When I see your dad, I mean, everyone loves your dad. Everyone always has loved your dad. And that's, I think, the difference. Coming up to those last two fights, you've got two very different families, haven't you?

11:21One, to be fair, Nigel Benn was almost like admired, loved, almost like a sort of someone in the country that was just loved by everybody but obviously you know Chris Eubanks seen you're very different all of my mate yeah yeah is that where the anger comes from that sort of with the two families I mean I don't it's really hard to say and I don't want to be disrespectful but I don't really like the son I don't really he's just not my cup of tea you know what I mean he just don't like yeah he don't like the word yeah he's not my cup of tea I don't like him but I don't feel like even now after the two I respect him I respect him do you know what I do respect massively is the fact that us both out of all people father's sons lived a very privileged upbringing privileged life not wanting for nothing throughout my whole life to be honest can still show to the world irrelevant of what your background is irrelevant of what your sphere is where you come from what you know what your background is you can still do whatever you want to do and if you're passionate about it you can still achieve it no matter what sphere no matter what world no matter what industry no matter what setbacks disadvantages you can do that you know because you say come from a privileged upbringing raised in Spain for 12 years raised in a heavily found home of faith not wanted for nothing you know parents didn't work went to private school still fight like that yeah it's because I'm passionate about it I love fighting when you say you don't like him you don't like him because of I think he's arrogant is the arrogance a show before a fight or is the arrogance you think what he is no he's definitely arrogant yeah in football so let's take Cristiano Ronaldo or I'm trying to think of other players who you'd almost say like a good arrogance is a confidence is he that no it's arrogant it's arrogant it's not like it's not like yeah cool I'm the nuts I'm good and you're still kind to people yeah You still give time to people and you're still...

13:26With arrogance, with confidence, you can still be humble or display some sort of humility. I'm not talking rude pictures on Instagram. I'm not talking about... I'm talking about as a person, core values. You know, you can still think you're the nuts and also still be humble at the same time. Yeah. When you... The conversation went. Is that a conversation went? Oh, yeah. You know, I'm going back to Vegas. Oh, Chris, yeah. What are you doing in Vegas, mate? Life, my friend. Life. doing life. Oh, cheers for the chat, mate. When was this? This was just before the, as the fight was getting arranged, just before the first one.

14:00The first one. The first, first one. And it was in Brighton, and it was just like, well, why you got to be like that? Why have you, just have a conversation, mate. Oh, yeah, no, I'm going in for this, you know, training's good, the weather's nice, I've been in it, blah, blah. No, not life, my friend, life. Oh, cheers, mate. But you seem to demonstrate some level of respect for each other at the end of the, well both fights really I respect him because we don't have to do what we do as well as we do and our reasons why many wouldn't you know we don't have to do this you know yeah we live a good life you don't have to do it because I mean it feels to me when I watch you that you have to do it in the sense that because I want to give my family no I want to give my family the best life I can when I'm done I want to look back and go like I've done what I wanted to do I've secured my family's future I've secured my family's legacy.

14:52So you fight for your son, not for your dad, really, in some ways. Yeah, no, don't fight for my dad. He's done. My dad don't even care about boxing. Does he? No. I mean, he wants me to win. He wants me to do well. He trusts my team and my trainer. My dad don't care about nothing, all the accreditations and all the belts. He's sold his box for charity. He don't care about nothing. What he cares about is me being happy. He cares about my son. He cares about my faith. He cares about my family home. He cares about how I'm doing. how are you doing son? does he love your boxing? yeah my mum hates it my mum hates she can't wait just because of the risk?

15:28I mean I don't really look at the risk because your mum would look at the risk I don't even think so I think I think the frame of mind you have to go to and the sort of person you have to be you can't be at peace all the time yeah you know right now I'm dying heavy dying thinking about how I'm going to iron this geezer out in four weeks thinking about how I'm going to absolutely destroy him and dismantle him, you know. And I could be standing there having a civilised conversation with you and in the back of my head I can't wait to shoot me a scene. Get out of range. So it's like a conflict with who I think I am and who I have to be to win.

16:08Yeah. Do you know what I mean? I feel like I'm going through this transition where I'm sort of really animalistic in some ways. Yes. yes you you go to this place where it's really dark yeah and you're prepared to go there but in order to go there you have to mentally prepare yourself for any outcome you know and for me it's just about destroy destroy destruct destruct you know and you're getting away in my future and you're getting away in my kids and you think you can take that from me and you build this chip on your shoulder that then you're fueled by that all camp and then you can't be a nice person when you're talking then that's how I used to feel at football but without the risk that you had to go through so when I was at United I used to think the same we have to win yeah it's us or them type thing and you have to win you'll do anything to win but hearing you obviously you're playing it's a different sport altogether you've obviously got pain at the end of it whereas football players don't tend to suffer the pain that you've got that feeling that animalistic feeling did you take that too far in the first fight what's the difference between the first fight and the second fight I've watched both and I've watched both live what is the difference how are you so much better in the second is it you or is he so much worse what's the difference in the two fights the first fight was I couldn't even tell you what round I was in I was in a frenzy you know I couldn't even tell you if I'd won the round lost the round my pain was my job was to get I didn't fit pain on him irrelevant of the round irrelevant what did you lose your compulsion Yeah, I didn't even know what round we were.

17:45I wasn't even sitting there going, oh, yeah, round one, round two, round three. You know, it could have been Mickey Mouse and Donald Duxley in ringside. I'll come tell you. You know, I was in that much of a... It was now. It was two and a half, three years for now. Have you ever felt that before? No, no. As rage, it was like I could have just kept going. You did keep going. I did, yeah. But it took me to a place that, you know, I pray, you know, my son never has to go to. no one has to go to where I had to go to for that fight because it was a dark place to be, not just the fight but the camp in what way what's that first camp like I look back at the pictures and it's like I don't recognise myself I don't know it was it wasn't just the fight night it wasn't the fight night, it was the camp it was the pressure, it was the stress it was the the anxiety I was just coming through my case so I was still battling depression I was still battling anxiety I was battling and I don't throw them words around lightly because I you know I can imagine that I mean it was two years out and you get in to be fair he's playing on that as well isn't it I needed the fight yeah legal bills I thought the case all the way to the end what were the legal bills on that I think it was 1.1 million on the legal bills for a legal case on my case 1.1 million now how do you tell do you pay that of course I did I paid every single penny of that on my own every single penny you know so how do you tell a 20 all of a sudden 20 25 year old who's just about to he's just about to go bomb slap with that million pound million pound how do you prepare for that you know not how do you prepare for not fighting you break your arm you're out you're back in six months yeah you know you break your jury you're out you're back in four months how do you expect to not fight for two and a half years and then pay the legal bills but fight it because you're so adamant and your family believe in you I've got a kid I've got a son and then I had a daughter on the way yeah so and I'm sitting there and I'm going okay now I've won this case and I'm done I'm completely exonerated cleared of that I've now just gone just straight as soon as that's done straight into the big big mega fight I weren't ready what is the depression for you what does it feel like yeah for you what was it the depression was a shame but in terms of what was it doing to you in terms of you know not being able to get up in the morning yeah I couldn't get up I would go to sleep crying and I couldn't wake up in the morning it's bad because it just takes me back there yeah it's mental it's mental I'm standing in my house and my kids and I'm like living a blessed life but for how bad it was.

20:39I couldn't even wake up in the morning. You get emotional, aren't you? Yeah, because it's real. It's real, and it happens. Did you get help? Yeah, of course. I had a fair appeal at the time. I had prayers. I fell out of my prayers and let me down. I didn't understand. Sorry. Yeah, listen. It's real. Depression is real. Yes, I live the life I live now, and I'm so appreciative of the life God's given me, but also you can't prepare for anything like that you know so for me back then it was I was scared to go to sleep at night because I knew I'd had to wake up to it the next day bearing the mind I've got kids I couldn't even be at that I couldn't even look my son in the face you know it was then just me running away from my problems I couldn't face it head on and my advice to anybody going through anything that may be hard face it head on because in the long run it's easier don't run from it because I was running and kept running and running and then I just I ran into oblivion I didn't even know where I was didn't even know who I was you know you just gotta face it head on because life is like a fight life is like boxing you know and the hardest fight is life more than 36 minutes against another man you gotta live up here every day of yourself and I couldn't live with it you said Shane is that just the feeling that everybody's talking about yeah everybody's accusing everybody's sort of I couldn't I couldn't see how it looked and it's like I believe them too so I couldn't I couldn't even I'm just seeing it again but I can see so I can see how it looked I'm putting my shoe on the other foot I can see it I get it I understand it's not the case but then why is everyone going to listen to me you know so it was like I said to my missus what do I do because if I lose this case I've spent all this money yeah well we've lost everything and when we lost everything we've lost our family home not this home one of our other houses we've lost our our home that's it we've got two kids did you live here that was this is a new house I've got my other house still in Bromwood but it was it was that was my dream home then yeah you know and it's what you want me to she's gone babe you've got to keep fighting you've got to keep fighting this case but then out of the pressure of me saying my fight am I fighting this case being selfish so the public think different than me but then I have kids does it matter do I bother fighting the case people have made up their mind already so I'm in this conflict of spending the millions losing millions at the same time when I could have just not but I chose to and I won who's the biggest help to you at that point in your life God God I at that time in my life I couldn't I didn't feel like I was being a great leader for my family home I didn't feel like I was a good man you know it was me trying to everything I possibly could to escape my reality escape what I was going through I couldn't bear the pain I couldn't stand I mean you can still see it now as I'm speaking about it you can oh it was so bad there was no hope yeah and I was in the darkest hole I'd go to the gym crying I'd drive to the gym I'd get to the gym crying on the way to the gym I'd get my trainer to rack my hands start shadow boxing start crying and walk out but in my head I kept telling myself if I'd just get to the gym every day would get easier just get to the gym just get there relevant to what the world's saying relevant to what the noise you know who you are and then I made a promise to God and I said do you know what this isn't who Eli's dad is this isn't who Conor Benn is I looked in the mirror I did recognise myself is this who realised that is is this who you are nah without boxing I didn't realise that is I ain't brought him in the world for me to be this kind of dad to him and then boom never drink ever again since then and I will never drink ever again and that never drink alcohol never again never again because you pushed about that too far yeah when you're numbing your pain it's then it's not fun anymore so you're drinking all the time around that time oh enough for it to not be me yeah I don't drink I'm not really been in drink, but that's enough for it to not be me and me to look myself in the mirror and question who I am.

25:04And ever since then, I've won the case and God's blessed me in abundance with more than I can ever imagine. The hustle doesn't have to hurt. If performance pressure is making it hard to breathe, Grow Therapy helps you navigate stress, set boundaries and actually feel like yourself again. Whether it's your first time in therapy or your 50th, Grow makes it easier to find a therapist who fits you, not the other way around. You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability, and get started in as little as two days. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments.

25:41You just pay per session. Grow helps you find therapy on your time. Whatever challenges you're facing, Grow Therapy is here to help. Grow accepts over 100 insurance plans, including Medicaid in some states. Sessions average about$21 with insurance and some pay as little as$0 depending on their plan. Visit growththerapy.com slash start now to get started. That's growththerapy.com slash start now. growththerapy.com slash start now. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. The Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports. Right now, the NBA is heating up, March Madness is here, and MLB is almost back.

26:21Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment you've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I can follow the teams I care about, get real-time scores, breaking news, and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment.

26:46You must be absolutely starving all the time. I am, yeah. I think it was just rage and anger and hate. If he watches this, he's going to come for you again and run that third fight. I'll beat him again. Because I'm smart.

27:04You then have to go into that first fight against someone who's very good with words. Safe to say, yeah. And he's going to play on that. And is that the thing that made you angry most? Obviously, the fact that he was playing on that sort of what would be the ban and everything that happened before. Listen, a lot of fighters don't care. You know, a lot of fighters, when stuff like this happens, you know, I go, cool, whatever it is, we keep it moving. Not me. I take it personally. So for me, it was, every word was a dagger to the heart. I love that. I love that. And then it was like, yeah, I can't wait to get my hands on you.

27:35And then he slapped me around the face of a lake. And I was like, mate, I'm getting it. And then it was just rage and anger and hate. And just rage and anger and hate. And it was that vicious cycle. was I was waking up in the morning with my fists like that. I was waking up and just going, I can't wait to get older. Like, if I could get older, if I could stand there and get older than and not have anyone press charges, I would have. You know, and that's the sort of person I was then. I didn't care if he was in our spill point and I spilled for a few days. I didn't care. So what? Do you know what I mean?

28:06And that was, and I can easily go back there. So when I'm talking about it, I'm going, yeah, I can easily go back there. I didn't care about him or his wellbeing or his safety or, you know, it was good. that was my age good put your nice four or three legs good no problem you know I'm happy about it and now looking back how barbaric that my mindset is you know it's just not who I was but ultimately gave everybody the entertainment they wanted will you fight him again? nah he should retire and for his for his health I pray he does retire to be fair Colin look I understand the sort of the weights difference between you both but I have to say when he he looked ill on the day of both fights actually when he was in that in those you know fucking saturated that's very normal I know to me it's just it's bizarre obviously I played football it's different I can't even relate it to boxing but he looked like skeletal yeah it's very it's very like scary almost in the sense he looked ill a little bit you know what I mean did you think that or not no No, because he's made that weight numerous times before me for fractions of the money.

29:20You know, so it's a narrative that was pushed. A lot of fighters, I mean, I'm talking about 85, 90 % of fighters have to do that horrible weight cut. It's not pleasant, I promise you now. There's been times where I like to make 147 and it's long. What are you when you're not in training? Wait, when I'm not in training? When you're not in training? I'm always training but when you're not sort of like in this extreme camp natural weight is what? 165 and you're getting down to what? 147 so 74 5 kilos I get down to 67 and that's the one I'm big but losing the last 6 pounds it's hard work you've got to be disciplined you've got to be calculated you have to have the best team around you you have to be strategic you know I have a chef I have a you know a nutritionist I have an S &C coach, assistant coach, coach, and actually it's on the performance side of things.

30:19You know, so, and they help me monitor, get my weight down as healthy and safely as possible. What are you in now, four weeks out? I can't really say. Is that giving too much away? Is that like a secret? I can't really say, but I've still got to do a weight cut. I've still got to do a weight cut. What's the weight cut? So your weight cut from where you are there now to that weight cut that you're going to have to get to, what is the difference? Is that like taking butter off your toast? Or do you have a bar on your toast anyway? You know what I mean? What is that? It is the bar off the toast. It is the bar off the toast.

30:49But my chef is phenomenal. Shout out to Daniel Sargent. He is phenomenal. I mean, he makes camp as fuelled as possible and make me feel like I'm not dying. I'll go to him and be like, listen, I want a Chinese. Because you must be starving. I'm hungry now, yeah. Because if you train like you train. I burn around 4 ,000 calories a day. That's what I'm saying. You must be absolutely starving all the time. I am, yeah. I am. And you have to just... And how many times do you eat a day? Three, four. But, like, I consume... I'm in a deficit, a big deficit daily, yeah. But it's... Do you know what it is?

31:24It's my job. So I'm not going to sit here and moan about it. I know you all do it, but it is extreme, isn't it? It is extreme, but... So some people would say football to a degree is extreme. Some people would say it depends on your... I used to have my Chinese on a Saturday night after a game. Stop rubbing it in with you. Yeah. Yeah, go on, John. Is that your cheat? Is that your cheat? I mean, I've asked them to prepare some Oriental vegetables with some free sides of chicken wings. Yeah. They just had free chicken wings and some Oriental veg yesterday. But listen, do you know what it is? I sit down here and I count my blessings because many fighters do this for fractions of the money.

32:01Yeah. So I ain't going to sit here and have a moan up about it. Ultimately, I'm getting paid a fortune. Just be disciplined, Dan. Be hungry now. You know, do your weight properly. see the difference between me and the rest is even when I was going through my case I still turned up to the gym even though I hated it I turned up to the gym crying I turned up to the gym I stayed in shape I stayed ready I hadn't fought for you never don't train you never have that time I had maybe three months of the two and a half years where I just lost it my head was gone apart from that you have to pull yourself together you have to because who's relying on you who's relying on you Because you see sometimes fighters in the past maybe and maybe not as much now that they would balloon in between fights.

32:42Some fighters do. Still now. Some fighters stay out of shape. Some fighters go out and want to party for each to their own. My dad was one of them. You know, so... He would balloon, would he? No, he'd go and party. Yeah. Yeah, he'd go and live his life. Do you know, back in the day. You know, and that's fine. But, and some fighters do. For me, it's just now a matter of just reclaiming back the time that was taken and go in and just give it everything I got. Because you see, when I look back, I just want to say I've done everything I possibly could to be the best fighter I can to make the biggest fights happen and you see nights like the first Eubank fight to give people nights they won't forget that was big you know because you see I see people come up to my dad and they're in their what 50s 60s and they go I remember sitting down with my dad and you know they had the family round and oh man what a fight and it takes them back to that moment they relive that moment and I sit there and I go what a blessing you've done that dad you did that do you feel like Can it ever get better than these two fights?

33:39I don't think so. It sounds crazy. Because at 99, we won every trophy in that season. I was only 24. Yeah. I knew I could never get any better in terms of the pinnacle of the achievement was at 24. I knew it couldn't get any better. How do you motivate yourself moving forward to think it's going to be better than that? No, I don't think it's going to be better than that. You think that is the pinnacle? I mean, for me personally, I think that's... I think it trumps a world title. what it meant to me to have fight of the year deliver against a fight that's two weights heavier than my weight then well it's like well I did that two weights heavier and for me it's like cool I'll get redemption I'll show people I can change I'll show people I can box I'll show people that I'll be the quicker fresher faster athlete which I know I am you know he he isn't that second fight you were completely different weren't you so you've lost it in that first fight you said you just basically almost but if you hear me though I say I lost the fight yeah the first fight you mean yeah but I mean I lost it myself yeah that's what I mean in that first fight your head's gone you can't see anything the second fight what is the difference in that build up to the second fight I have to win this is about winning but what are you doing differently with your mind to get it so it's calmer just box him box him it's just about winning smiling you're smarter smiling smiling and smart definitely smart but smiling going to the weigh in you alright Chris you alright mate yeah go on son good looking well mate looking good how's the chicken how's the chicken wings yeah do you know what I mean you know just it's not personal it ain't always got to be personal I'm very I'm a very emotional guy so when I anything I do I don't do anything half hearted anything but half measures I take things personally yeah it ain't always got to be personal you know it's just business and I'm going to beat you convincingly like no doubt I'm going to show everybody I'm the better fighter than you I've got a better boxing brain than you I'm faster than you I'm stronger than you I'm quicker than you and I'm smarter than you so it's like cool watch me people say I can't do it that was my chip on my shoulder if he watches this he's going to come for you again and you're on that third fight I'll beat him again because I'm smarter you know so he's he's a great fighter he he done well in his mind games which is one of the first fight and the second fight you know I said I said it was the first fight they let me down I let myself down he didn't beat me I beat me in terms of training program first fight second fight forget the mental side physically and the sort of what would be technical did you do exactly the same preparation or did you change after the first fight change everything to what technically but also we worked with the weight you've got to remember this was my first fight back in ages against Chris so it was like first fight at 160 first fight back in a year and a half two years the second fight then was a lot quicker turn around you've got to remember I was inactive you know straight into a mega stadium show a weight that I've not fought at before you know so there's so many different variables there you know the second fight then I was I know what to expect can you do a stadium show number one yeah can you perform at 160 the ring walks were incredible eh I personally think my one was better bro what do you think I thought they were both good super fast they were brilliant weren't they yeah 50 didn't I'll leave it with my three loss though.

37:06But no, it was special. Everything about both the nights was special. Yeah. If you're asking me, I prefer the first night. Even though I lost it, the first night was... It was special. It was something about the first night. It's like three years in the build-up, three years in the making. That's amazing. You think the first night's more special even though you've lost that fight versus the second one where you've obviously... The second fight felt better. but the first fight was like I'm just happy that we delivered. Yeah. I'm happy that I could give entertainment to the public because there's so many fights out there that build up this hype and then they have to deliver.

37:43For me, it's just about... Do you feel like responsibility to deliver entertainment? Of course. See, my next fight, I'd rather lose it if it's entertaining than win a boring fight because then did your stock even go up? Yeah, yeah. Does anybody even want to watch you fight? Yeah. Listen, I'm going to lose fights that I should have won. and I've won fights that I should have lost. No one had me to beat Eubank in the second fight. I thought it was going to be a repeat, you know, and I've come out flying, you know, so ultimately it's a fight game and it's the entertainment business more important.

38:14My job is to give people value for money, give them vulnerability. Do you get that from your dad? Because I always get a feeling your dad was about entertaining and giving everything. Does that come from your dad? Well, my dad lost to Watson, lost to Colleen, lost to Eubanks. Sorry, Dad. Yeah, look. Yeah, yeah. The living list goes on. You're making him sound like a bum. Yeah, no, I know. I'll be getting a message off him soon. But it's the value for money. I'm not here for a long time. I'm here for a good time. And for as long as Ben's in boxing, I want people to go, you've got to watch Ben fight.

38:46You've got to watch him fight. What is the pathway now? We know you've got to fight in the next few weeks, but what is the big next moment you look for that you think? The big next moment is April the 11th. Yeah. Because ultimately, he's a tricky Southport. nobody likes apples but he's a tricky zappler and you know no doubt I'll go in there and you know find my target and I'll shoot when I shoot I don't miss so it's going to be exciting it's going to be challenging but that is my first step and then God willing that all goes as I believe it's going to go which is you know one way I think the world world title WBC world title in September sounds sounded like a plan that's that's the road and if I could if I could do you know third stadium show back to back yeah and then win the world title that would have been some some two years back first two years back after the case yeah pretty phenomenal that was amazing that's fucking no messing around yeah straight into it straight in I'm going to be mentally fatigued for training now yeah When did you tell Eddie that you were moving?

39:59I can hand on heart say it's the best decision I made for my family. He said he lent you money, wasn't he? He didn't lend me a cent. And guess who it all fell on? Me. It all fell on me.

40:15So, having spoken to, like, Antti Joshua, Tyson Fury, they've all talked about the business of boxing, the risk of it, the short-term nature of the career. And it's the same with football. you have to make the money while you can. You've obviously made a big move in the last couple of months. Just take us back to the start of that and how this originated, where you end up leaving matchroom boxing. I would like to use the word leaving because matchroom for me have been a heavy part of my career. They are the foundation of who Conor Bin is today.

40:48It was a bold move and it's not comfortable. Change is never comfortable. It's all I've ever known for 10 years. What's not comfortable about it? Change is never comfortable. Yeah. They're all I know. They're my home. They're my friends. They're my family. They're my people. And they've got me to where I am now. But I feel like the decision that had to be made was the best decision I made for my family. And I want to look back in five years, 10 years' time and go, oh, is that the best decision for my family? and I can hand on heart say it's the best decision I made for my family. And Miguel Cotto once said to me, do you know Miguel Cotto?

41:31Yeah, yeah. He's my hero. He's my hero. He said to me, belts? What are belts? I said, you know, you won all the belts. He's gone, yeah, the belts mean nothing. You know, your children are your legacy. You want to make sure that your, the decisions you make now are the best decisions you make for your kids. Boy, did that hit home. Yeah. And then again, my dad sold his belts to charity. Yes, it's a nice accolade and accomplishment for yourself. But when it comes down to it, all that matters are your kids and giving your kids the best life they could possibly have. Yeah. And open doors for them that nobody can open apart from you.

42:13And this is one of them decisions where I sit down and I go, it changes. It's not just my kids' life and my kids' kids' lives. Yeah. Thanks to granddad. Thanks to me. Yeah. And then it's my son's turn to change his kids' kids' life. Yeah. You know, for me, that's that. I can't, my kids, you can't, there's no, there's nothing I would not be willing to do. Yeah. For the interests of my kids and my family over anybody. I will never choose my kids over anybody else over my kids. Look, if I was looking at it sort of like a little bit, like from a footballer's perspective, and I always try and think of it, a player's been at, say, Manchester United, or let's say a player's been at West Ham, the club that you support, Declan Rice has been there, all of a sudden Arsenal come along and offer him a big contract, and he decides to go and leave his childhood club that he loves, and he goes and plays for Arsenal.

43:11And in football, most people accept that you're going to want to better yourself, you're going to want a better contract, you're going to want to play for a bigger club. Is that what's happened here? Essentially. You couldn't say box is a little bit more personal. It's different, yeah. It's more personal. So it's... I can't say it's painful. It's hard when you're talking the money you're talking. You can't say it's painful because my loyalty is not with Matt Room. I love Matt Room. Forever grateful. Anyone can come out and say anything they ever want about me. My love for Eddie, my love for Matt Room will always be there.

43:44you know for barry the amount of times that we've sat down in his office and spoke about life and about and about everything that helps me be the best not just fighter but using my business brain yeah um you know the time to take a happy so for me it's it's it's can't even say heartbreaking because ultimately it is what it is it's a business decision and you have to make the best decision for for you your family and and and your career and for me this is the best decision did your dad approve of it instantly instantly when you're talking the numbers you're talking it's well who's going to pay for my mortgage when I'm done and retired say I lost the next three fights on the spin yeah I'd be lucky to get a ringside seat I mean likely not because I'm at your mind that way but if you get what I'm saying it's in the say I don't perform great or say I have a career ending injury is it anyone else's responsibility to put food on the table for my kids it's anyone else's responsibility to make sure that me and my family live a blessed life for the rest of our life Is the number that big in the difference?

44:51Yes, drastic It's money where you go if you're a couple mil out you go yeah alright we can still set out but it's not that Look I can understand why Eddie and Barry and the matchroom feel really upset because to be fair they've obviously done a great job in boxing for you haven't they as well Best job I won't be around today without matrimon and what they've done and guided me. I'd still say they're one of the best, for sure. But if you're getting that level of money more... They'd be more understanding. You think... I mean, I... I think it's more of an ego thing. I think they definitely understand.

45:26Of course they understand. I know Eddie. Yeah. So when did you tell Eddie that you were moving? Well, I didn't tell Eddie. I mean, it was that we spoke. I sent him a nice long message saying, you know, let's catch up and watch the dust to sell them once all this has been sorted out we didn't know the outcome then whether it was going to be matched or not um and so listen we'll speak speak to him as this is done and i want and i want to speak to them i want to speak to eddie because outside of business which this is we're friends yeah and the thing is this is so public yeah well it can hurt people's egos it's hurt them hasn't it yeah that's it but ultimately as my friend you go it's the best decision for UConn.

46:08You have no interest, financial or business interest in my career, right? No. You'd say to me as a friend, you'd go, you've got to take the money. Yeah, I think if you get offered that level of money more... You're not even close. In boxing, would I leave Manchester United for more money? No, because to be fair, I was on long-term contracts, I was happier where I was. Yeah. But if I was boxing and I was putting my life on the line and someone offers me more money to go and have a fight, I think I'm taking it yeah well you know until you're in that position you won't know but any fight could be your last fight and after the three years I've had I've prayed and promised myself I'll never be in a position again where I have to I have to feel the way I felt because only I had to deal with that and guess who it all fell on me it all fell on me no one paid my legal bills nobody he said he lent you money he didn't lend me a cent.

47:07I paid the legal bills 100 % myself. Yeah. You know, so for me, that's, well, no one paid my legal bills. No one called up and checked to see if I got food on the table. No one, I had to do that myself. Yeah. And that's a big part of the reason as to why no one's going to, no one's going to defend you. No one's going to have your back when, when you're done and forgotten about. You have to look after yourself and your family. Yeah. You know, and that three years taught me what I know now. It's a short career Yeah And that told me What I know now Yeah No one's there To cover me and my family I am What's your first conversation With Zuffer Look like So what Who picks the phone up to you It was a quick turnaround It was in What It was a quick turnaround And you'll Is it a one Is it a one deal One fight deal So what happens after that I'm a free agent So you can go What happens then Well I'm a free agent Exactly Can you do your own Or do you just I could do mine I could I could have I've got my matchroom.

48:06I could go stay with Zufa. So it was very short-sighted, the approach. Right. Is it normal to have a one-fight deal? No, but obviously the big noise that it made was worth the one-fight deal. Yeah. It gave me the biggest fights. That for me is a priority. Give me the world title. It sounds smart to me in some ways that you're in control of your own destiny. So if you win this fight, which you're really confident they're doing, you then have a position. You can just let go with the next best offer. But does that mean Matt should come back to the table potentially or not? Do you think they will?

48:37I don't think they will, would they? With what Eddie said, I don't think it feels like he's going to come back to the table. It's not a matter of whether, you know, they... I mean, will they? I know design probably will. Yeah. You know, but will I? Yeah. You know, so you're... I've had nothing bad to say. No. As my friend, you go to me, Con, you should really... Yeah, that's good for you and your family. And Dana White You spoke to him I have yeah Good guy Very good guy He's going to make A big move into boxing He wants to make A big move into boxing He has the backing He has the The network He has You know The partners to do so And Just the Saudi Arabian influence How is How's that sit I mean I know that it's a big influence In the last three Four years And is that Is that behind Obviously that behind Zufa Or are they I believe I believe it's behind Zufa They're behind Zufa Okay I think they want to take over boxing as well.

49:33You know, you think they've been in boxing now for, what, four or five years? And this is part of that movement, basically. Yeah, they want to take over boxing for sure. Do you like the business of boxing? Do I like the business of boxing? That's one thing when I spoke to the fighters, they all were a little bit. It's a bit murky. It's very murky. The promoters, the sort of taking who's getting the money, where's it all going? It's very murky. It's very murky. It's not, it's very murky. Because there's been things that have gone on in my career and you sit there and you go, that leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

50:02Yeah, Josephine, I always think, I hate middlemen, to be fair, full stop, but Josephine, I respect that they do a great job and they need to be in every sport and look after athletes, but I don't like them in the sense, I always like to know where the money's going. I don't mind people getting... You don't want to get full disclosure of the money. I always like to know where the money's going. If you're fighting against Chris Eubank Jr. at Tottenham, do you know the exact business plan for that event or do you just get your purse and that's it? you agree your purse. And then it's depending on where the fire gets made, whether they can match what you want or not.

50:34Okay. But then it's sort of like, well, if you're happy with what you're getting, then that's it then. And that's it. So whatever happens on top, there's extra pay-per-view purchases that just goes... Me, personally, as a fire, I like guarantee. I like guarantee. Then you know you get it. Because pay-per-view ain't what it used to be. Yeah. So, yeah, everyone has fire sticks now. Everyone has this. Everyone has that. Everyone downloads or streams. You know, so for me, guarantee up front it's always a better way some people like to take the gamble and take the risk I prefer the I know what I'm getting how does boxing change to make it more comfortable for young fighters not about you now because obviously you're at the very top but about the young fighters that come into the game and how do they get looked after good team good team it's so important lawyer because the manager and the lawyer can sort of roll into one just a good lawyer have you always had your own lawyer away for a matchroom I've had my my team isn't a matchroom it's not a matchroom team no so your trainer your accountant your lawyer no they're all my accountant my lawyer manager they're all they're in boxing ok but I wouldn't say they're like matchroom ok my trainer is trainer is so what do matchroom and what do Zufa do is it Zufa Zufa Zufa what do they do for you they just bring you the money for the fight and that's your they go to the broadcast And get them...

51:55And say this is the max amount. Okay. The max amount. Yeah. They take their car for that. Yeah. And then tell me what... And they try and negotiate me down. Yeah. So do you get the same money for both fights against Chris Eubank Jr.? Similar, yeah. And after this fight, Walt have the same level of interest and nowhere near the same level of interest, obviously. No, no, no. And a weight that I'm comfortable at. Yeah. I'm fought with this weight for three years. Has it made you feel a bit uncomfortable the publicity in the last couple of months around because you've been questioned you know obviously there's been a bit of a war between the two promoters between Dana White and Eddie I love to see it I love it my reels on Instagram I just can't get enough of it I'm like give me more of that shit you know what I mean football managers come out and say quite mundane things and football people are boring and you get these boxing promoters you're all fucking mad you lot no I love to see it but ultimately would you be bothered?

52:55I mean, I sit down and go, it's been worse. I mean, it's not even bad. I'm sitting here going, hold on a minute. How many fighters would love to be in my position? What am I looking about? What? I mean, social media is the minority. Yeah. It is a minority. Anywhere I go, it's always love. Talk to me about Zufa in terms of the influence now they're having you on the build. I'm very, very excited. I mean, they're backing me heavily, which is nice. and more importantly, make the biggest fights to the public. And that's all I care about, is giving people value for money, the biggest commercial fights out there.

53:29I'm not here for a long time, I'm here for a good time. So, you know, however that looks, however that comes, I want to be remembered to be in the most exciting fights there is. Are we going to see you in that world title fight in September? I'm going to get a world title in September, no doubt. You had a fight with your dad, didn't you, at one point, did you? Yeah, he chinned me, yeah. He chinned you? Yeah, he chinned me, yeah. He chipped my tooth, bled my nose. Yeah, it hit me with a right hand. It wasn't great. If I'm asking for it, well, then it's going to give it to me, then, then.

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57:13The End I'm honestly saying, it must be a half decent boxer, I've got a nice straight nose. Yeah, well not anymore. He's fucking started that outfit. Very frankly. No, but do you know what though, I said to him, when he turned up, he said sparring, like anything happens in sparring, I've been hit, I've been pinged in sparring, by light people, by heavy, it's combat. But when I've done his nosing, and he's turned up to the gym, on the Wednesday, I've looked at him, but I'm going, I didn't recognise him, I'm thinking that ain't him. And he's going like this, I'm going, and then he's going I've gone oh my god mate I broke your nose I always have a big squid I could actually feel it sitting in Tony's car I could feel it throbbing I could feel my cheeks getting higher and higher but are you okay to go in there now and do eight rounds?

57:58mate he was in on a Wednesday so I've done that on a Monday he was back in the gym on a Wednesday you're not fucking right you're not right speak for himself go home relax just chill out it's not it's not it's not not normal and I couldn't praise him enough I've got to say to him It ain't about being tough or about anything, but the fact that he's turned up to help me, give me a helping hand. Unbelievable. People wouldn't. No, no. Most fighters, it's a problem someone like that, it gets tough in there. Even after the spar on the Monday, they get hit and they feel their nose. They go, oh, they start looking for ways out.

58:29They look for their little eyes. It's a bit sore on the air. Well, fair do to you, mate. I've got admiration for you, honestly. He's been giving it to me every day since. I've got people on supper. Brilliant. All right, you coming up? I'll come up yeah this is like my little private section yeah oh nice this is my assistant coach how are you nice to see you okay yeah nice to see you Rahan content crayon yeah your description forensics forensics yeah he's got all the white gloves and all that yeah and a head coach Tony Sinner is he good This is my 28th year training. Are you looking fit? Yeah, I'm doing the half marathon next time.

59:20Are you? Yeah, I'm doing the boys on Saturday night and then I'm doing the Brutal Guard marathon. Wow. Yeah, so I'm still keeping myself in the show. How fit does Conor look there? Well, he is. He's a good show. The good thing is, obviously, when he fought Chris, he was up the middleweight. He's had to drop him back down to two weights again, but he's done it really well. I was a little bit worried because what he had on him, and we had muscle on him. Yeah, yeah. He didn't have fat on him when he went up, so to, like, take muscle off him, which Dan's been a lot involved in that. These are fuckers, aren't they?

59:52Yeah. These are fuckers, aren't they? Oh, he has me doing that assault bike before sparring. Yeah. You see this sparring? It's so you want to make sparring as hard as possible. Yeah. He'll jump in there fresh. I'll have done two assaults, 15 minutes skipping, four rounds shadow. So I've already done a workout before I get in there. But then come fight week or the week before fight week, when you haven't got all these other actions that you've got to focus on and you jump in there fresh, you feel phenomenal. You fly out. You want to make spiraling as hard as possible. So you're overworking basically.

1:00:25Yeah, to make that as hard as possible. So come fight night, what's 12 rounds? I've been doing four-minute rounds with 30 seconds rest. In fact, I've done 30 minutes straight the other day. Doing that to play. Boxing. If you're boxing, straight. Yeah. You'll do that. So that makes a minute in between rounds feel easy. The whole job is to make this as hard as possible. Yeah. So come fight night, it feels effortless. But I love it, though, because you see when I'm out of camp, there's only so many holidays you can go on. There's only so much relaxing you can do and eating good food. And then you're like, well, where's the next one?

1:01:01Yeah, yeah. Who's next? So what is the perfect time between each fight? I mean, does it depend on the severity? because you say severity after the first Eubank fight the Saturday the Sunday I ran 5k on the treadmill in the gym wow straight back to work in the gym and my dad trains every single day does he? he trains my dad trains twice still boxing training or? yeah he does boxing training every day and he does weights every day twice a day no days off no but he'll land from Australia and he'll shadow box in my bathroom at 3 in the morning I'm not even joking I'm not even joking I'm going dad what are you doing mate you're waking me up you had a fight with your dad didn't you at one point did you when you were younger what kind of fight what gloves no gloves no you had a fight with him at one point in the ring did you yeah he chinned me he chinned you yeah he chipped my tooth bled my nose yeah he hit me with my right hand and then yeah it wasn't great but he again if I'm asking for it well then he's going to give it to me isn't he okay and the lad downstairs by the way, he's got a broken nose that you're fighting.

1:02:08That was bad, yeah. Is he representative of the height and weight and style of the guy that you're fighting for? He's Southport. He's strong. He's sturdy. He's a good fighter. He's had 22 fights, lost two. He's fighting next Saturday, he said. Oh, he's fighting next Saturday. Yeah, he's fighting next Saturday. Yeah, so he's in shape. He's in perfect shape. He doesn't fucking look like he's in perfect shape to me, to be fair. How about that? He looks like he's in fucking awful shape. He's come in the gym and he's gone... Yeah, your nose is bent, mate. That's the first guy I've ever met. His nose is more bent than mine.

1:02:43You break your nose a lot as a defender. Do you want to go for a header? Yeah. And they go to flick it on. You head the back of the head. And you break your nose. That's why I'm... Yeah. You just wear my nose like that. Have you had it fixed? I had it fixed when I was 24 and then it just went again. So, like, a lot of the centre-backs... Made it worse to get it fixed. Yeah, because you know the sinus thing where you have the straight and then... Can you breathe? No, so do you know the brief strips? I wear them at night in bed. Yeah, so I struggle breathing when I lay down. Because of your nose?

1:03:11Yeah, yeah. You can't not break your nose, can you? I mean, has a boxer ever been through their career without a broken nose? I broke my nose once. I know when I broke my nose as well. And I was sparring a journeyman. Okay. And he hit me with an uppercut. I've never felt anything like it on my face. My eyes just went all year. And my nose, I couldn't breathe. That when you had your jaw broken? Yeah, I was growing up that one. Who did your jaw? Who did you? A guy called Ahara Well John Ryder started It gave me a hairline fracture And I keep getting this pain in my jaw I keep getting this pain This sharp pain Anyways then I've Left the pain Because I thought I'll just carry on And then a few weeks later I Went to Portugal Went to Portugal He's hit me with a punch And I've flinched And I never flinch I don't flinch and then I've carried on again and it went bang again and then the jaw just snapped off, broke it once I fractured it to the other.

1:04:09How do you fix your broken jaw? Just reset it like? They stick a plate in there. Yeah, the plate here, the plate there. They stitch the inside of my mouth. Wow. Yeah. It's worse because my daughter had a jaw problem a few weeks before that so I knew this guy was good because he operated on her jaws. The worst one, yeah, when you borrow your jaw, sneezing. Oh, yeah. or eating steak yeah I did what's the worst injury you can get for a boxer I've torn my tendon twice in my hand this in your no it's possibly see that there the ligament nah yeah I ripped it all down the side so that was hanging over here so if that goals that's a bad one well no then that happens twice what's the worst injury you can get well it'd be a brain one what it'd be a brain injury yeah I mean that's the that's the worst eye injury it's another bad one I mean thank God I've not really had any severe injuries yeah you know I've torn my tendon in my hand repairable in if you break something it's repairable in lumps yeah I'm not really concerned is that just a sponge?

1:05:13it's a washing up sponge yeah to train you put a washing up sponge to just protect the knuckles I would have thought it would have been a bit more exciting when you think you're like 2026 you've got a scientist and you've got my nan's sponge fucking in your hand I thought you'd have something like this made perfectly to mould into you. It's so true. Oh, I like sponge. It's beautiful. They do the job well. It's only for protecting them. Yeah, yeah. They just keep me humble in there. Yeah. Or we're not in sponge. But it is good, though. All my sparring equipment over there, that's all, like... Are there bigger gloves when you're sparring?

1:05:50Bigger gloves. Yeah, so they're bigger. Bigger gloves so that you're not hitting each other as hard, basically. I'm just not, I'm not, I'm not one to try and get out there and hurt my sparring partners. I'm there to do what I've got to do. I'm not there to try and render my conscience or anything. You know, so for me, sometimes I work on speed. I'll have the light gloves. Then I've spied in 18s, 16s, 14s. Yeah. You know. Okay. I always hit the bag. What's he wearing? What will he be wearing? The one you're sparring against this month? 16. Oh, there's 16s or four, yes. Now, hand wraps are very important.

1:06:23Yeah. you know it's very very important if the the watch you have someone in your camp going to the other sort of dressing room is that does that still go on are people trying to game not trying people trying to game people can wrap hands illegally can't they in what way do too much on ice

1:06:46it's a lot of ways but not right now it's like nobody's gonna do it these days because of the control but you can And usually when the wraps get wet and then they dry again, they became so hard. Oh, okay. What people used to do back in the days, when you do the padding for the knuckles and tell the sponge, you got to do a padding with the gauze. Yeah. Then if you put it wet and then you let it dry outside. So they would make it wet, then make it dry, and then it's a bit heavier. What they do sometimes is if the guy who is inspectioning the wraps is all over the place, They'll show you one and they change it for the hard one and they put it there.

1:07:27It's like concrete, yeah. It's like, yeah, it's bad. So obviously you watch the rap and then they put the gloves on and then are they not allowed to take... What happens if they're not allowed to take the gloves off? They get some on board. That's it, Dad. Oh, OK.

1:07:42Your goal is to never go in there. I mean, I've seen the pain my dad's gone through with the fight with McClellan. Yeah. You know, where it's damaged, where it's like you don't want to... your goal is to never permanently hurt anybody. No, no. You know, and although you may want to knock somebody out and hurt them and win in devastating fashion, it's not, you don't want to, you never really want to, you don't want to be that guy. Have you ever been in a fight where you thought the referee should have stopped it and you can see it's not being stopped? Has that ever happened to you? No, because I stop it for them.

1:08:14So I don't, I'll go in there and if I see, if the rep hasn't called it, I'm not sitting there, you've got one shot. Yeah. Because you see so many fighters who could close the show, and then they go back on their jab, and then they lose the fight. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If you see an opportunity, if I see a split second off an opportunity to make sure you don't get back up for the remainder of this fight, I'm going to take it. Split second, I'm going to take it. You know, and I've seen fighters lose fights because they don't want to, they don't do that. Sounds so barbaric, doesn't it? Yeah. See, I know, I'm not even...

1:08:53Is it him from the chat earlier? Are you such a nice guy?

1:09:00No, it's quite funny, because when you say it out loud, it can sound really barbaric, but I'm actually not like that. That's the conflict. At least you are him, though, isn't it? Yeah. That's what I was talking about to you earlier. Yeah. Because if you talk to me on a normal day, I'm nothing like that. Yeah. Now, sometimes it blows my mind I'm actually can be I can wire myself like that and then I go to then just being look feel that yeah but it's the wrist this can't remove the it's just firm does that not is that like that's how to say a whoop is it would that not damage someone if you hit them with that it's like yeah yeah heart max heart rate go up to around 209 on a regular basis inspiring now and then my recovery is almost instant right to zone one within to zone two within a minute what run are you doing now uh sprint work uh beach sprints in the morning are you doing when you're running in this camp now what what have you been running most days we've done the various to do track sessions yeah beach sessions we do step sessions all drive a slight day physiology but yeah 100s, 400s, 200s yeah horrible we used to do 200s and 400s they're horrible yeah and what are you doing 200s then what's he running 200s then he did 300s the other day we did 8300s 2 seconds 45 seconds rest 30 seconds we did one on Tuesday Gary so 4 minutes work at 90 to 95 % of max heart rate so he's getting comfortable where he fit under dominating that red zone and staying at 4 minutes in what?

1:10:41in the ring or running? on the treadmill on the treadmill what's the treadmill at? the treadmill was at you push it on on the last one oh yeah but 17 to 20 over the how many did we do 4 minutes on a gradient yeah slight 17 to 20 for 4 minutes is going somewhere so you get to that zone yeah yeah you know but that's based on like a Norwegian study it's called 4 times 4 so that improves via 2 max right the amount of oxygen so you do the 4 minutes 1 minute rest 4 minutes 2 minutes rest 2 minutes rest ok yeah but it's brutal yeah wow I love it man supremely fit. But then you have, then it's also the other factors like the nutrition.

1:11:20So performing under fatigue, performing when you're in a calorie deficit. Then also the mental strength from the Zillings. You need to know this and to know why you're having a bad day. And it's just like the whole thing. Do you feel shit sometimes? Do you have, as a football, sometimes you feel, I don't feel like. A bit flat. Yeah. We're good at it. We had the moment on Monday and what we do, going back to the data, you made me laugh about the sponges, but we do look at a lot of data, is we then look at, okay, what occurred prior to that that could have led to a smaller performance? And there was a couple of factors that we had in.

1:11:52We have a lot of recovery modalities, maybe one of which, so which one was a little bit too long the year prior. We look at all of those. We can't be definitive. I asked him before about the fitness, the training camp between the first fight and the second fight against Eubank. He said they were technically different. What was the difference from your two factors? I think there's massive psychological change there. The first fight he went in there with a big cloud above him, and it was the first time doing a lot of things like the ring war, fighting at that weight, fighting at magnitude of that fight.

1:12:22Felt like he handled the occasion pretty well, but then in hindsight, we knew that he could handle it better, and he showed that the second time round, and it's complete. We coined the term karma amidst the chaos. The Zenzu art of war, Conor was calm, and executed the game plan that the guys put together to perfection. And physically, what did you do different from first to second? I think he was in a great place first. Yeah, physically I was in. Similar trains, yeah. I thought it never leaves a stone unturned. Do you repeat the actual same program? We have a similar year. We have similar... Sorry, no, we go heavier.

1:12:51We get better. We do get better. We repeat the same program, but we go heavier. But you're obviously improving each time. Yeah, exactly. The fundamental system remains the same, but more than incremental increases each time. Yeah. Yeah, I have to make, whether it be sprints, whether it be S &C numbers, I am always even if it's it could be 0.5 in the key you know a kilo what are you lifting by the way track bar deadlift did it the other day right yeah 185 no kilograms yeah no fucking I go to the gym you know most mornings like deadlift I've got 40 it fucking happened on your lower back it's fucking quite hard to deadlift but we my peak for the last camp was 185 but I was 50 185 and that's the deadlift.

1:13:40That's it. So it's this one. Yeah. 185. But I was... He's fucking good. But I was... That was my peak for the U-Bank. Do you bench press? Not heavy. We don't. You don't? We bench press. We take the shoulders a little bit on that one. Okay. Squat? We tend to put... Yeah. I'm just a good squatter. We do like half squats just to work with a slightly shorter range. And what would they be? We'll see about 160. 160. Slightly shorter range, but 160. Yeah, he did a 185 deadlift from the blocks the other day. But what we look at, Gary, is risk reward. We don't just aim and press boxers shoulders with everything being in front.

1:14:12That's a problematic area. So we do a lot of dumbbell floor press. Okay. We have certain nuances on the front. So the bench press is a, is that, can that? A little bit, yeah. Yeah. Because as well, if like, is it that bit? Yeah. It's the C joint in the shoulder, exactly. So we'll mirror that movement with a floor press where the elbows touch the floor. Yeah, okay. On the alignment. It doesn't go beyond. Yeah, I get that. So just risk reward, you know. Yeah, yeah. It's mad that, I mean, I bench press to be fair and I can, I feel it there yeah yeah maybe just slightly reduce the range of motion yeah all dumbbells yeah yeah fucking 160 squat 185 that's not right but I love it though I like you just have a coffin before you go in yeah yeah I used to have a coffin before I played or like an espresso yeah espresso yeah yeah yeah I used to have like whole core you used to have quite I will tell you a funny story for the first can you asked the question difference between first and last can first can Too many coffees?

1:15:07Honestly, too many coffees. No, no, no. No, we're joking. Eight to nine coffees a day, yeah. Yeah. But what goes up must come down, right? So every time he has a null, he'll go again. And then sleep's compromised. There's this don't-house effect to every other performance marker. Since we're talking about sleep. Oh, yeah. No coffees after two o 'clock, is it? No coffees after one o 'clock? Now what? Everyone's different. But like alcohol, everyone has a different tolerance. But we may have shifted the coffees to decaf coffees without Connor knowing. Oh, well done. How about that? Well done. Yeah.

1:15:36There's a trust amongst the same. Sneaky bastards. Yeah. All they've had to do was go into a con, you know, offering we should... Yeah. Perfect. How would you react to that? But that is... That is a strong big one, that. That's the biggest best show. It's the biggest best show, that. I don't think so. It's a decaf, though. Don't worry about it.

1:16:00Corey, do you feel that muscle, Nate? Do you feel that? Corey, you hear the slap on it. It's like slapping bricks. You can see I'm getting in my zone ready for sparring. That fucking poor lad with a broken nose down there from Glasgow. As I said, he's been giving it to me all week. Yeah. No, he's made back now. Oh, he's a good lad, eh?

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