Fighter Profile: Conor Benn
Fighter Profile: Conor Benn
The name Benn is synonymous with boxing.
Nigel Benn was a leading British boxer and two-division world champion in the 1990s, but it is his son Conor who is now making waves in the fight world.
The 25-year-old nicknamed ‘The Destroyer’ is an unbeaten welterweight looking to continue the family legacy.
Benn is aiming to become Britain’s next world champion in 2022 after a brutal knockout of Chris Algieri earlier this month underlined his credentials, but what do we know about him?
Background
With his father’s success, Benn lived a comfortable life as a youngster, but Nigel was sure to instil discipline in his son, who spent over a decade growing up in Mallorca but had to work for his own money.
Benn boxed as an amateur in Australia after his father emigrated there having hung up his gloves in 1996 - at least so we thought, until a comeback at 55 beckoned last year only for injury to derail it.
Benn worked as a painter and decorator and even has a master’s degree in fitness but eventually chose to follow in his father’s footsteps by carving out a professional boxing career.
Career
All of Benn’s amateur bouts came Down Under, where he won 20 of 22 scraps.
He first donned the gloves around the age of 16 and he stepped into the ring for the first time around three or four months later.
He went on to have 12 amateur fights in that first year as he got a real taste for the sport that made his dad a household name.
Australia does not hold the sport in the same regard as the UK and Benn turned professional in 2016 back on these shores.
His debut in the paid ranks came against Bulgarian Ivailo Boyanov at the O2 who he TKO’d in the first round under the guidance of coach Tony Sims, his father’s friend and old sparring partner.
Benn’s debut came in April with further victories in May, June and September on the undercard of Gennady Golovkin v Kell Brook to stretch his record to 4-0.
Later that month, he went the distance for the first time in a six-round fight, winning a clear decision against Ross Jameson.
Benn beat Steven Backhouse on the Anthony Joshua v Eric Molina undercard before chalking up three more TKO victories over British opponents in 2017.
In November of that year he made his American debut by knocking out Mexican Brandon Sanudo in New York.
Either side of a victory over Chris Truman, Benn defeated Frenchman Cedrick Peynaud twice, the second bout earning him the WBA Continental welterweight title.
He has now defended that belt six times, including an 80-second demolition of Samuel Vargas and a classy points victory over Adrián Granados at Eddie Hearn’s fight camp earlier this year.
The defeat of Algieri in Liverpool last time out took his record to 20-0, leaving him dreaming of bigger and better things next year.
What next?
Promoter Hearn revealed he is trying to line up a big name for Benn to fight in 2022 and has mentioned Adrien Broner, Robert Guerrero or the recently retired Shawn Porter to try and draw in the crowds.
Rival Frank Warren has called for Benn to step into the ring against his unbeaten charge David Avanesyan.
Hearn told Boxing Scene: “'The plan for Conor Benn is to get him into position to challenge for a world title, and he's on fire.
“Everyone is calling out Conor Benn. Why do you think? Because he's the money-man for the division, outside of [Terence] Crawford, [Errol] Spence, and these guys. He's on fire.”
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