“Because Chris Eubank Jr. was like 37 years old. You get old overnight. And he has to dehydrate down to a weight division that doesn’t suit him,” said Mora to Chris Mannix’s channel. That takes away your legs, it saps your strength, and that’s the reason he didn’t look so strong. “And then with Benn, it has to be the PEDs, man.
“His body didn’t look as ripped. It didn’t look as muscular. You got that with a lot of fighters, whether they’re male or female, once they lose that extra boost of cheating. The proof is in the pudding. They don’t look that good because they’re not putting in their body what used to be the goods. They used to be powerful. They used to be explosive. They used to be able to take a punch a lot better. That’s not there anymore.”
Benn tested positive for the banned substance clomifene in 2022, forcing the cancellation of his scheduled bout with Eubank Jr. He has since returned to the ring and has repeatedly maintained his innocence, eventually receiving clearance to resume boxing.
Mora said he’s willing to change his opinion if Benn begins producing the kind of knockout performances that defined the early part of his career while continuing to pass drug tests.
“If he can go back to knocking people out like he did Algieri, like he was knocking out everybody, now when he’s passing all the tests, then one, I will apologize,” said Mora. Then he can maybe get all the haters on board and start to say, ‘Okay, that’s what I can get behind.’ But for now, if we’re questioning it, it’s because of the obvious.”
Mora’s comments leave little doubt about how he views the matchup. He believes Benn has lost the explosiveness that once made him one of the division’s most dangerous punchers, while Ryan is entering the fight at the peak of his career. If Benn proves capable of rediscovering that knockout power while continuing to pass drug tests, Mora says he’ll gladly admit he was wrong.
