By Charles Brun: Conor Benn vs. Chris Algieri was just announced moments ago for December 11th in the main event on DAZN at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn surprisingly is calling it a “huge step up” for Conor Benn, but many fans would disagree with him.Β This fight isn’t a step up. It’s a NIGHTMARE. It’s nothing but smoke & mirrors with Benn, being put in with another stiff to make him look better than he actually is.
Charles Brun doesn’t view the past his best Chris Algieri as any kind of a step up, but it’s clearly a big step down from the last two over-the-hill journeymen that Benn fought.
The 37-year-old Algieri (25-3, 9 KOs) is obviously a step down from Benn’s last two opponents Adrian Granados and Samuel Vargas.
Those guys are fighting on a higher level than Algieri, who hasn’t done anything with his career in the last seven years since briefly holding the WBO 140-lb title after beating Ruslan Provodnikov in 2014.
At this late stage in Algieri’s thirteen-year professional career, he’s more of a commentator than a relevant fighter. This choice of an opponent for Benn confirms the view that many boxing fans have about Conor in that he’s being spoon-fed soft-washed up opposition to keep the gravy train going.
Benn is a money-maker, thanks to his last name and popular dad, British boxing legend Nigel Benn.
As far as I can tell, the only thing Conor has in common with his famous dad Nigel is his last name because he has NONE of his talents. Nigel was light years better than what we’ve seen from Conor Benn thus far.
“π Huge step up for @ConorNigel as he faces former World Champ
@ChrisAlgieri Dec 11 in Liverpool live on @daznboxing
π¬π§ πΊπΈ π₯” said Eddie Hearn on Twitter.
π π π¦ π§ π₯ π’ π¬ π π₯ π€@ConorNigel fights former World Champion @ChrisAlgieri in Liverpool, Dec 11 π₯ #BennAlgieri @DAZNBoxing pic.twitter.com/LpiAmgDBSY
β Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) November 7, 2021
“We expect Algieri to bring his best, but I want him deep in the trenches with me, I want to use this opportunity to display my skills and ability against a quality fighter to prepare me and take another step closer to a World Title. A former World Champ vs. a very, very hungry contender, I canβt wait for December 11,” said Benn.
In other words, what Benn is saying is he wants a showcase opponent. When you decode all the blabber that Benn is saying above, what he’s saying is he wants an easy washed-up opponent to showcase.
Boxing fans wanted to see Conor Benn step it up in a real way by fighting one of these quality fighters:
- David Avanesyan
- Jaron Ennis
- Vergil Ortiz Jr
- Keith Thurman
- Danny Garcia
- Regis Prograis
I mean, is it asking too much for Conor Benn to be matched against Avanesyan, Vergil Ortiz Jr, or Jaron Ennis?
Algieri is an excellent boxing commentator, but that’s about it. He’s done zero since his lopsided 12 round loss to Manny Pacquiao in November 2014.
That was a fight in which Algieri was knocked down an incredible six times by Pacquiao, who batted him around the ring like a baseball.
What baffling about that fight is why referee Genaro Rodriguez didn’t halt the fight because Algieri was dropped so many times that the fight looked like a comedy.
Normally when a fighter is knocked down three times, the fights are generally stopped. But for Rodriguez to allow Algieri to get knocked down six times without stopping the contest, it was a joke.
In Algieri’s next fight after his loss to Pacquiao, he was soundly beaten by Amir Khan by a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision in May 2015. A year later, Errol Spence Jr. destroyed Algieri by a fifth round knockout in April 2016.