By Jake Tiernan: Eddie Hearn feels that Chris Eubank Jr. wouldn’t have been able to stand up to the shots that Conor Benn landed on the tough Mexican Rodolfo Orozco last Saturday night in their ten-round war last Saturday night at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida.
The judges scored it 99-91, 99-91, and 96-94.
It’s too bad Hearn’s focus is only on putting Benn in business-level fights against Eubank Jr. Kell Brook, as it would be interesting to see him fight relevant guys at 147, 154 & 160 like these fighters:
Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis
Terence Crawford
Jesus Ramos
Tim Tszyu
Sebastian Fundora
Janibek Alimkhanuly
Errol Spence Jr.
Carlos Adames
The only guys of that bunch that Benn would have a shot at beating would be Spence & Fundora, but it still be interesting to see him face relevant guys instead of domestic-level fighters like Eubank Jr. or the retired Kell Brook. That’s a waste.
Benn (22-0, 14 KOs) landed a lot of huge punches that would have knocked out many 154 & 160-pounders, but the younger, bigger fighter, 6’1″ Orozco (32-4-3, 24 KOs), took them and inflicted a lot of damage by hanging in there, landing a lot of punches of his own.
It didn’t matter that Orozco wasn’t a knockout artist. With the frequency with which he was hitting Benn, he put him through hell & back.
The fight showed that Benn isn’t cut out for the 154-lb division, but he definitely has a good chance of beating Eubank Jr. at 160 because isn’t an A-levelfighter. He’s more of a C-level middleweight at best. Eubank Jr. would lose to fringe-level middleweights like Danny Garcia, Denzel Bentley & Felix Cash.
Benn has too much power
“Eubank is a very tough fight. I don’t think Eubank could stand up to those shots in all honestly,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV about the punches that Conor Benn landed on Rodolfo Orozco last Saturday night.
Benn vs. Eubank Jr. = mismatch. The 34-year-old Eubank Jr. will likely be on his bike, running from Benn the entire fight. The only reason Eubank Jr. showed aggression against Liam Smith is because he was injured & weight drained and not throwing any punches.
“You saw him get stopped by Liam Smith with punches of a lot less velocity than what you saw tonight, but prove me wrong if it’s an easy fight.
“If you’re a fight fan, it’s unbelievable matchmaking, but I think there’s there are two ways to look at it,” said Hearn about matching Benn against the tough Rodolfo Orozco, which turned out to be a grueling fight for Conor.
“Perhaps we should have got him a walkover. Instead, we got him a Mexican brick house with probably the best chin I’ve ever seen, and JC Juan Carlos is his manager,” Hearn said about Orozco.
“Our co-promoter in Mexico messaged me after. He went, ‘I told you this kid’s [Orozco] has the best chin I’ve ever seen.’
“Conor Benn’s a very good fighter because that kid can really fight. Orozco would give people absolute fits, and so part of me feels like we should have chosen someone easier to start. But let’s be honest. Do you really want a two-round blowout, really?
“A 10-round war was a little bit, but I thought it was a great performance you [from Benn]. I think he lost around maybe two, not really, but he got he got chin-checked, and he got backed up,” said Hearn.
It was perfect matchmaking by Hearn, putting Benn in with Orozco. If he’d picked someone a tad bit better, like Erickson Lubin, Israel Madrimov, Austin Trout, or Terrell Gausha, Benn would have likely lost.
Benn is better-suited to be fighting at 147, but clearly not good enough to hang with Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. Conor isn’t that kind of talent.
Conor has time to heal
“It was a very fast pace. He’s got a little nick, which is nothing major. I think he needed the rounds. Orozco is a massive 154-pounder, which I think is good for his [Conor Benn] potential fight with Eubank because he was a big lump.
Benn has a small nick under his right eye from the Orozco fight. That’s going to have to heal for him to make it through training camp for his December fight against Eubank Jr.
“He’s obviously been through a lot and this week. He’s had criticism,” said Hearn about Benn. “He’s had media calls, and he’s had allegations. He needs it, but one thing I say about Conor Benn. He’s exciting, just absolute box office every time, even in a fight like that. I thought it was a really good performance.
“Many people are going to be queuing up to fight him. I mean, his chin is unbelievable,” Hearn said about Orozco. “Yeah, 100% have Orozco back [to the UK]. Like 154, 160, he’s a handful.
“The cut, it’s just a nick [on Conor Benn’s right eye]. Butterfly stitches or whatever it was. For his proposed date, we have 13 weeks. So he’s going to have two or three weeks off. He’s been training for over a year,” said Hearn.
