By Charles Brun: Adrian Granados wants to take it out of the judge’s hands tonight to ensure he doesn’t get robbed in his 12-round fight against the popular British welterweight Conor Benn in their fight at the Headingley Rugby League Stadium in Leeds.
The journeyman Granados (21-8-3, 15 KOs) has been on the receiving end of controversial decision defeats many times in the past, and he’s not going to let that happen against the 24-year-old Benn.
The Chicago native Granados has a chance of winning tonight if Benn starts throwing flurries as he did in his last fight against journeyman Samuel Vargas.
Benn leaves himself wide open for counter shots when he unloads on his opponents, and he can’t fight like that against an experienced guy like Granados without putting himself at risk of getting dropped or knocked out.
The Matchroom Boxing promoted Benn hasn’t learned his lesson from his two fights with Cedrick Peynaud in 2017 & 2018.
Benn fought like a wildman in both of those fights, throwing flurries and getting nailed hard by counter shots from the more disciplined & composed French fighter Peynaud.
Granados battling Benn, crowd & judges
Adrian, 32, knows that he’s fighting a popular young fighter in 24-year-old Benn, who is being hyped like mad because he is the son of the famous former two-division world champion Nigel ‘The Dark Destroyer’ Benn.
British fans want Conor to follow in his father’s giant footsteps, and it’s a hopeless situation because he doesn’t possess that kind of talent.
Benn is a good basic fighter, but he’s as gifted as his old man, Nigel. The quickness, power, and overall aren’t there for young Benn. Also, Conor is hot-headed, unlike Nigel.
Conor is always on edge, appearing hyper-alert and taking offense easily during interviews. Watching Conor give an interview is disturbing because he always seems like he’s got something weighing down on him.
That lack of patience and calmness sets Conor apart from Nigel, who was completely different. If Conor is bent out of shape about measuring up to Nigel, he shouldn’t worry about it. He’s never going to be as good as Nigel, and you can see it from watching any of Conor’s fights.
The 24-year-old Benn can still be a good fighter, but he probably won’t ever win a world title unless he’s put in an ideal situation where he’s fighting for a vacant belt against some guy that has no place fighting for a world title.
Thus far, the young Benn has been matched wisely by his promoter Eddie Hearn to keep him from being found out and tasting defeat, but he’s going to happen eventually.
Benn arguably lost already with a controversial points decision over Cedrick Peynaud in 2017. Conor looked awful against Peynaud in both of their fights and was very, very lucky to get a decision win over him the first time.
I had Benn losing the first fight, and I thought he barely edged the second one. Those two fights exposed Benn as a limited fighter.
Granados won’t let the judges rob him
“Conor Benn is a great big name, especially here in England,” said Granados to Secondsout. “I know I have a tough task ahead of me, but
“I’m up for it. We had a great camp, and we were more than prepared for the last fight, and now we’re even more prepared.
“I would say maintaining and remaining focused and disciplined and given me more time to sharpen up,” said Granados on the postponement of his previously scheduled July 31st fight with Benn.
“I’m excited with 20,000 people, and knowing about England and the Leeds crowds and the ruckus they bring to the table, I’m excited to be able to perform in front of them.
“Let’s see what happens. If they accept me, if they boo me, I’m going to bask in it. I’m going to have to take it out of the judges’ hands if I can.
“I’ve already gotten so used to it. Once it goes to the judges, I’m so nervous because I know they’re going to take it from me. I have the losses, and I have the draws.
“I feel they just use that to tack on and protect somebody else’s career and their record. So like I said, I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands and take it out of the judges’ hands,” said Granados.
It’s fair to say that Granados needs to do his utmost to ensure the fight doesn’t go to the scorecards tonight if he doesn’t want to suffer a defeat.
That’s not to say he will be robbed, but he is fighting away from the U.S against a top-rated fighter that brings in big crowds.
What’s a little odd is the placement of the Benn vs. Granados fight, as it’s not the main event or the co-feature. Hearn has placed the Benn-Granados fight as the third from the top of the card.
This suggests that the interest in the Benn-Granados fight isn’t that great and makes you wonder a little bit about why the fight was postponed from their originally scheduled date of July 31st at the Matchroom Fight Camp week 1.
Benn vs. Granados was the headliner for their card, but now they’ve been moved to #3 on tonights’ card.
What does that tell you? It tells me that the public’s interest in the fight between Benn and Granados wasn’t high enough for it to headline nor be placed in the chief support.
That’s a pretty far drop, isn’t it? You go from the main event to #3 behind Mauricio Lara vs. Josh Taylor and Katie Taylor vs. Jennifer Han.
Adrian: I’m a better fighter than Benn
“Not only being an away fighter but fighting fighters at this level,” said Granados. “Conor Benn is a very impressive, a very strong, and a very willing young man.
“He wants to prove to the world that he’s one of the best. I’ve been in with a lot of the best, and it’s unfortunate that at this level, it’s hard.
“You’re not going to knock out everybody. He thinks he’s going to knock me out.
“He’s not. It’s tough, but that’s what you get when you want to be one of the best in the world.
“I think just all an around better fighter [than Conor Benn], and I do better in every category, so we’ll see what transpires.
“This is my first time working with DAZN and Matchroom Boxing. They’re top treatment.
“I would love to be a regular out here. I love it out here in England. The way of life and the people. Like I said, I’d like to be a regular out here,” said Granados.
Adrian is definitely more polished technically than Benn, and he’s got more discipline inside the ring. Benn seems sloppy and too prone to unload on his opponents, especially after he gets hit.
Benn appears to lose his cool when he gets nailed by a hard shot and starts swinging for the fences instead of using his boxing brain to figure out his opponent.
Up until now, Benn has gotten away with fighting the way he does because Matchroom hasn’t put him in with talented opposition.
Tonight, if Granados has anything left, he might hand Benn his first career defeat, which would be a huge blow to Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn. This could be the beginning of many losses for Benn if he’s not careful.
