Conor Benn: My dad wants me to fight Shawn Porter

By Boxing News - 04/26/2021 - Comments

By Charles Brun: Welterweight contender Conor Benn says his father Nigel Benn wants him to fight former IBF/WBC champion Shawn Porter next in July, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.

It bothers Benn that the boxing public believe he wouldn’t beat Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) because he seems to believe it’s a fight that he could win. The problem with the fans doubting Benn stems from the performance Porter put in against Errol Spence Jr in 2019.

Fans doubt Benn could beat Porter

Porter barely lost to Spence by a 12 round split decision, and many fans felt that he deserved a victory. So for Benn to believe he can beat Porter, what he’s really saying is he would defeat Spence as well.

That’s not something the fans would agree as being possible. Like many young fighters with egos that are unchecked, Benn’s feet don’t appear to be planted on solid ground. 

The victory for Conor over the journeyman Vargas seems to have planted ideas into his head, warping his thinking.

It’s one thing to beat a journeyman is that is coming off a brutal beat down by Vergil Ortiz Jr, but to extrapolate from there to assume you’re now going to beat Porter and Errol Spence, that’s living in fantasyland.

Benn’s win over Vargas seems to have taken his ego to another level, and it’s not a good thing. Someone needs to talk to Benn and tell him how things really are in terms of his talent. He needs a clear picture of what could happen to him if he tangles with Porter and Spence.

‘The Destroyer’ Benn (18-0, 12 KOs) is ready to take a step up with his career after his first-round knockout win over Samuel Vargas on April 10th in London, England.

Benn, 24, was hoping to get a fight against Amir Khan, but he’s shown no desire to get in the ring with him, and he doesn’t blame him. Conor states that he ould knock out Khan within four or five rounds.

Conor Benn to fight in July

“July, that’s what we’re aiming for,” said Conor Benn to iFL TV about his next fight. “I’m going out to America for a training camp, and we’ll see what happens. Yeah, definitely in July. I’d like to have two more fights before the years up, for sure.

Image: Conor Benn: My dad wants me to fight Shawn Porter

“He’s like they expected nothing less, and neither did I,” Conor said when asked what his dad Nigel Benn’s reaction was to his win over Samuel Vargas on April 10th. “It was just hard work, man.

“Yeah, he [Nigel] wants the fight with Porter. Yes, it’s funny, he definitely wants the Porter fight.

“Everyone is going, ‘Yeah, he can’t beat Porter. He can’t do this; he can’t do that.’ You keep carrying on with that rubbish. It’s funny, isn’t it?

“Honestly, it’s funny. That’s all I can say to that. You get funny people out there,” said Benn.

Conor is talking about wanting to fight for an interim 147-lb title after his next fight in July, which he says will be a step up. Given that Vargas wasn’t a first-tier contender, Benn saying his July fight will be a step up for him doesn’t mean much.

A step up from a second-tier fighter like Vargas could mean that Benn will face one of these guys in his next fight in July:

  • Sergey Lipinets
  • Yuki Beppu
  • Chris Kongo
  • Ahmed El Mousaoui
  • Thulani Mbenge

The fighters that fans want to see Benn take on next are Jaron Ennis, Vergil Ortiz Jr, or David Avanesysan.

If Benn is talking about being good enough to beat Porter, he should defeat those three fighters.

If Benn doesn’t feel he’s up to defeating Ortiz, Ennis, or Avanesyan, he shouldn’t be wasting the fans’ time banging the drum for a fight with Porter.

Khan not interested in fighting Benn

“I don’t think he was interested. He was talking about fights making sense,” said Conor Benn when asked about a fight between him and Amir Khan. “But fights against a super featherweight against Billy Dib.

Image: Conor Benn: My dad wants me to fight Shawn Porter

“He gives him short notice and then fights Phil LoGreco, and then fights [Samuel] Vargas and gets nailed by him, who I beat easy. Of course, he ain’t,” said Benn about his belief that Khan doesn’t want to fight him.

“Why would he want to fight me? But then again, he fought [Marco Antonio] Barrera at the end of his career. But he wouldn’t want to go after someone like me. I don’t think it would go after four or five rounds once I get a hold of him.

“A good beating, that’s what’s in it for him [Khan], which is why it makes sense for him not to take it. You can’t blame him, but this is the crossover from up and comers to idols and rivals.

“It’s that sort of crossover. It doesn’t make sense for Khan to take it. I wouldn’t take a fight with me if I were Khan. It doesn’t matter what he’s done. It matters where he is now and where I am now.

“He could have fought King Kong three fights ago. It’s where he is now and what stage of his career he is. Why would he want to fight me? We’re at two different levels. He’d fight the likes of Kell Brook.

“People with enough credibility to lose to rather than myself. He wouldn’t go out like that. But then again, if he were that confident of beating me, he’d take the fight. I’m at the stage where I’m all about progression.

The Khan fight would be a massive step up for me, but again, it would be another fight where I’d prove myself in,” said Benn.

It’s understandable why Khan doesn’t want to fight Conor Benn. Khan is 34-years-old, hasn’t fought in two years, and is just looking to cash out against Kell Brook or one of the big names like Manny Pacquiao.

There’s more money for Khan in a fight against Brook or Pacquiao than what he can make against the young upstart Benn, who still hasn’t cut his teeth on his first contender.

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