Via Charles Brun: Eddie Hearn plans to use former world champion Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero or Marice ‘Mighty Mo’ Hooker as the next opponent for heavyweight contender Conor Benn in April.
In Benn’s final game, he came to a halt against his best 37-year-old former WBO 140 lb champion Chris Algieri on December 11 in Liverpool, England. New Yorker Algieri was already a feat in 2014 when he defeated WBO lightweight WBO lightweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov by decision to split 12 rounds.
Algieri’s 15 minutes of fame ended in an instant. However, he successfully converted his win over Provodnikov into two tit-for-tat fights against Manny Pacquiao and Errol Spence Jr, both of whom lost badly.
Since then, Algieri’s career has come to an end. Interestingly, Hearn chose Algieri for Benn to fight instead of a related fighter from the 147 lb division, a move that reinforced the belief that he just arranged Conor to withdraw money.
Benn feels he’s ready to fight for the world championship in 2022 against WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas. Unfortunately, Ugas was not available as he was scheduled to face IBF/WBC champion Errol Spence Jr. in April.
Spence is likely the winner when the smoke clears from that fight and he could face WBO champion Terence Crawford next. Under the base scenario, Benn will have a fighting chance to win the world championship in the first half of 2023.
Before that, it would be a good idea for Hearn to fight Benn against A-rank fighters to prepare him for Spence, Ugas, or Crawford. From fighting the likes of Guerrero, Hooker or Adrien Broner to going up against one of the world champions at 147th, there’s going to be too much to ask of Benn.
Conor Benn is positioned to withdraw?
The way Hearn fits Benn, it seems he’s trying to get him some quick cash rather than building him up properly in preparation for a title.
If this is just a matter of money for Hearn and Benn, they are doing an effective job by battling exclusively shot old people who lack the size, strength, and youth to inflict problem for him.
“Broner wants to fight before because he’s on a new crusade about the severity,” Hearn told ESPN.
“He said he is ready for Conor Benn but wants to fight in March if possible. If not, two names we like are Robert Guerrero and Maurice Hooker at The O2. It will be one of those three names, most likely.”
Former double world champion Guerrero (37-6-1, 20 KOs) is 38 years old this year and he is a shadow of his former self since his promotion from 135 to 147 in 2012.
Guerrero lacked the caliber to compete with the very best in the welterweight division, and his career has faltered since then.
But on the plus side, Guerrero has made a lot of money moving up to 147th, and he’s willing to live with the fortune he’s amassed over the years through fights against Floyd Mayweather Jr, Andre Berto , Keith Thurman and Victor Ortiz.
Hearn’s first opponent picks for undefeated Benn (20-0, 13 KOs), former four-division world champion, Adrien ‘The Problem’ Broner, is unlikely to be in the match as the 32-year-old wants to have it. a match kicks off in March at 140.
After years of seemingly not taking his career seriously, Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs) wanted to be in top form before taking on the significantly younger, older and stronger 25-year-old Benn.
Conor is the son of former British star Nigel Benn, but he has the appearance and fighting strength unlike his famous father. Nigel is bigger, stronger, faster and a better fighter. There is no comparison between the two.
Unnecessarily, Conor is more calculating than Nigel and tends to choose his position to attack. In Nigel’s case, he would relentlessly attack his enemies and destroy them slowly with his steady bombardment until he had a goal.
Nigel’s Insider Game is on another level. It sucks that Conor can’t fight as close as he did because that would open a new dimension to his game.
Conor hasn’t shown any close combat ability, and it’s unlikely he ever will at this point. It takes boxers years to learn how to fight inside, and Conor’s late start to the game puts him at a disadvantage in this area.
Benn says he doesn’t need two more adjustments
“I don’t believe I need a few more battles; If they invite me to the next Ugas, I’ll duel that,” said Benn. “I know what I am capable of and what I did in the ring proves it. ”
Charles Brun hates the drizzle in Benn’s parade, but what he recently demonstrated with wins over Algieri, Samuel Vargas, Adrian Granados and bottom-of-the-table contender Sebastian Formella makes absolutely no sense.
Benn proved nothing more than a victory over the lower level cannon that Hearn had repeatedly shoved into the ring for him to defeat.
It’s troubling that Benn isn’t self-aware enough to realize that Hearn is confronting him against subordinate appetizers instead of opposing on a world level. Didn’t Conor’s father Nigel Benn draw him into what Hearn was doing?
“I can’t see any of them fighting me, more likely than Brook can,Benn on winner Amir Khan vs. Kell Brook was incapable of facing him.
Hearn is unlikely to have former IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook anywhere near Conor Benn, even though he is old and has shot at 35 and rarely fights longer. Brook is like an old ‘Bouncing Betty’ mine that hasn’t exploded has been buried in the frozen ground for 50 years, but is still quite dangerous if activated.
If Benn had to face Brook, he and the Hearn promoter might regret doing so. That’s why it’s very unlikely a fight as Brook can destroy the pre-Benn train pretty easily.
Brook can still punch, and he would NOT refuse the fight with Benn if it was suggested to him by Hearn because Conor would be food for him. As Conor has shown flawed, Brook will be a nightmare for him.
