Adrian Granados furious at Conor Benn testing positive for Covid-19

By Boxing News - 07/29/2021 - Comments

By Charles Brun: Adrian Granados says he was furious after learning of Conor Benn’s positive test for COVID-19 on Thursday, which has derailed their scheduled headliner fight for this Saturday, July 31st at Matchroom Fight Camp.

Granados (21-8-3, 15 KOs) says he “lost it” after hearing about Benn (18-0, 12 KOs) testing positive for COVID-19 today. All the hard work that the 31-year-old Granados had put in during training camp for this fight, went down the drain entirely.

Now all Granados is hoping for is Benn, 24, recovering fast enough for the fight to be rescheduled for August 14th or September 4th.

Unfortunately, with COVID-19, there’s no way of knowing when Benn will be able to come back. Although the illness tends to have less of an impact on younger people, that’s not always the case.

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn needs to make sure he stays on top of the recovery process for Benn because if his illness lingers, Granados will need to move on. He’s not young enough to sit and wait for years for the day when Benn can finally come back from his illness.

What was surprising to Charles Brun is that Hearn didn’t volunteer any information on HOW Benn came down with COVID-19 and whether he had been vaccinated or not.

At least with Tyson Fury, we heard from his forthcoming promoter Bob Arum that he’d only received one shot instead of two to guard against COVID-19.

In Benn’s case, there seems to be a clampdown on the vital information on whether he’d been vaccinated. If Benn was vaccinated, how in the heck did he test positive?

Was it a partial vaccination like Fury or maybe a case of a breakthrough infection with the variant form of COVID-19.

Again, there’s no information coming from Hearn on how and why Benn came down with COVID-19.  If I was Granados, I’d be hopping mad, asking for details on whether Benn was vaccinated.

It’s strange that in ALL the interviews that Granados made on Thursday, not once did he ask whether Benn had been vaccinated.

Granados was angry after learning of Benn’s positive COVID results

“I lost it a little bit. I was pretty upset,” said Granados to Matchroom Boxing about his reaction to finding out Conor Benn tested positive for COVID-19.

Image: Adrian Granados furious at Conor Benn testing positive for Covid-19

“I was pissed, I went off, yelling, cursing, speaking Spanish. It’s for a reason this happened.

“I now just got to stay focused, stay ready and hopefully, we can get it on as soon as possible. We were both excited about this fight.

“Obviously, Conor Benn had his pathway for this fight that he wants to choose. He saw me as a stepping stone, and I took total disrespect for that because he’s already looking past me already.

“He doesn’t understand that I’m going to use him as a come-up. I’m still here, I’m still one of the best. This is what’s going to happen.

“It happened recently with Tyson Fury and it happened with Teofimo Lopez. It’s part of life now.

“I want Conor Benn to have a full recovery so we can get it on in two weeks or five weeks or whatever. I’m ready to go right now. I was ready for whatever,” said Granados.

It’s not surprising that Granados was upset about the positive test because it basically means he’s got to start training camp all over again.

Each camp is like a military boot camp, and it’s obviously not a picnic to have to go through another one. Granados has no way of knowing when Benn will be recovered and ready to go.

So if Granados resumes training, he could wear himself out in camp if Benn’s illness lasts for a couple of months.

Granados is already the underdog for this fight, but whatever chance he had of winning may go out the window if he overtrains.

Adrian wants Benn to make a full recovery

“Conor is a very confident, cocky kid,” Granados continued about Benn “I’m like, ‘Man, you don’t even know who you’re messing with.’ I’m a young veteran.

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They got me like some old beaten-up horse. How much does he have left.

“I think one of the quotes from the press had grabbed. If you pay attention to my losses and how many losses I had and not the performance, then you really don’t know who I am.

“I’m going to be ready for the best Conor Benn because that’s what I want. I want a full recovery for him, I don’t want any excuses.

“I want him to keep his full energy in how he’s going to stop me. I want that all because I’m ready for whatever.

“I’ve yet to meet Conor Benn, I’ve yet to stare him in the eyes. I was ready for it today.

“Today was supposed to be the press conference. I’m ready to beat Conor Benn. I don’t care if it’s in front of 40,000 fans or four judges.

“Let’s get it. We can fight in an elevator if he needs to. The stuff that he said, the talking, the brash, and then the public.

“I don’t really care about that because I know everyone has their own opinion about boxing.

“I was just so excited about this fight, but it’s alright. Now, we’re going to build it up a little more. Let me know when you’re ready, Conor Benn,” said Granados.

“It’s the day and age that we live in now. It’s unfortunate,” said Granados. “Both Conor and I were gung-ho for this fight, excited for this fight and both chomping at the bit.

“It’s unfortunate that this disease is conquering the world right now. I’m upset, frustrated but what can you do. You told me that if I wanted to fight still you would give me a fight.

“No, this is Adrian Granados. Let’s go. This is the fight that was supposed to have happened.

“Benn has been talking a lot of stuff. I’ve said some things, but I just wanted to get it on. It’s unfortunate but I’m hoping for a speedy recovery, a 100% recovery.

“I don’t want no excuse. It’s either the 14th or the 4th of September will be 110% ready,” said Granados.

Hopefully, Benn does make a full recovery but you never know. I mean, look at Alexander Povetkin as an example of what COVID-19 can do to a fighter. He got a bad case of this dreaded illness last year, and it took everything out of him.

When Povetkin did return to the ring last March, he looked like it had aged him five years and left him just a shell of his former self.

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