Eubank Jr. vs Benn II: Four Times a Fighter Secured Immediate Revenge

April’s fight between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn didn’t just live up to the billing—it demolished it. The build-up to the clash was already blockbuster, with the story following on from the pair of clashes the two fighters' fathers had against each other in the 1990s. Too many times over the years have we witnessed fights that set the world alight in the build-up, only to serve up a dud on fight night. That wasn't the case at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

https://x.com/BovadaOfficial/status/1894474661473243346

For twelve rounds, drama spilled over. The younger, fresher Benn’s suffocating aggression pushed the pace in the early rounds, before the size and experience of Eubank Jr. eventually took over late on. Both men threw over 700 punches apiece, landing over 200 each, but it was in those vital championship rounds where Eubank Jr. took command. He showed discipline in the pocket—timing shots, turning Benn, imposing his will, and was ultimately rewarded with a career-defining unanimous decision win.

Next month, however, the two rivals will go toe-to-toe one more time, and online betting sites predict another close contest. The latest boxing betting at Bovada odds make Eubank Jr. a 1/2 favorite to repeat and secure another victory, while Benn is a 6/4 underdog on his hunt for vindication. But luckily for the younger man, plenty of fighters over the years have managed to secure revenge in a rematch, and here are four such occasions.

Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran

The summer of 1980 delivered one of boxing’s grandest upsets—Montreal’s stage set for a coronation, but instead witnessed an ambush. Sugar Ray Leonard—the darling of the American fight scene—tried to best the menacing Roberto Duran at his own game, choosing to brawl with the master brawler. The relentless 71-1 fighter pressed Leonard from the outset, right up until the judges’ scorecards made it official: a unanimous decision for the Panamanian, a stunned Sugar Ray left to taste defeat for the first time, and a new WBC welterweight champion of the world.

In New Orleans five months later, Leonard returned—not just changed, but transformed. Refusing to be drawn inside, he danced on the outside, popping jabs, darting in and out, and ensuring that Duran couldn't get close like he did in the pair's first fight. It was a boxing masterclass, technical mastery humbling brute force. In the eighth, battered and out-thought, Duran inexplicably turned away and quit—his “No Más” surrender instantly legendary.

Leonard’s recalibration wasn’t just vengeance; it was art. The Ring Magazine would later crown him the era’s true pound-for-pound king, but that night, the world learned defeat can be the genesis of greatness.

Lennox Lewis vs. Hasim Rahman

Sometimes, a single punch can upend an entire division. Johannesburg’s rarefied air played host to one of heavyweight boxing’s most seismic moments: Lennox Lewis, often imperious, growing careless against Hasim Rahman. Then came the overhand right—a missile from nowhere—and the Lion, sprawled on the canvas, blinked at the ceiling in disbelief, knocked out by a 20/1 underdog and surrendering his WBC, IBF, and IBO heavyweight titles in the process.

A rematch in Las Vegas beckoned. Lewis, now encased in focus and humility, boxed with intent, controlling range and rhythm from the start. The Brit landed 92 power punches to Rahman’s 42, but in the end, those numbers became irrelevant. In the fourth round, a perfectly set trap detonated; Lewis delivered his own thudding right, and this time, Rahman was the one left with no answers, and the Lion had reclaimed his throne.

José Luis Castillo vs. Diego Corrales

If ever a rivalry boiled down to opposites—ice and fire—it was Diego Corrales-José Luis Castillo. Their May 2005 original is still spoken of in awed tones, a battle awarded instant-classic status by fight fans across the world. Corrales, rocked and nearly finished in the tenth, summoned one of boxing’s greatest resurrections, twice rising and then stopping Castillo in a sequence still replayed to this day.

Revenge was scheduled just five months later. Castillo, fighting with both a chip on his shoulder and several pounds over the limit, shifted strategies. The clinic he performed was surgical, targeting Corrales’s ribs until, in the fourth, a ruthless left hook folded "Chico" in half. He stayed down for the count. The WBC belt changed hands, and the rivalry was instantly legendary—not just for its violence, but for the perfect symmetry of rise and ruin.

Leo Santa Cruz vs. Carl Frampton

When the undefeated Carl Frampton outboxed Leo Santa Cruz in Brooklyn in July 2016, fight fans wondered if the Irishman’s style might always trouble the Mexican. In the pair's initial clash, the Jackal sprung the upset, defeating the bigger man via majority decision and winning the WBA featherweight title to become a two-weight world champion.

But Santa Cruz almost immediately went back to work in a bid to right the wrongs of his painful night in the Big Apple. Six months later, the sequel in Las Vegas was an exhibition in measured readjustment. With a 2-inch reach advantage finally used to full effect, the Mexican relied on his advantages and refused to be drawn into a dogfight. He out-jabbed Frampton 230-186, with punch stats underlining his increased control. A majority decision of his own ensured that the belt returned to El Terremoto, where it would remain until a brutal knockout loss to Gervonta Davis in 2020.