Conor Benn, what do we think?

They both beat a common opponent in Sebastian Formella with a UD win for both.

I think questions need to be asked in how tough he is. Porter is a tough boxer but he has hit the canvas and times where it hasn't been scored a knockdown (gloves touched the canvas).

I'd say Conor is actually on the same level as Porter or around his level currently. Porter is world class but not elite. I think Porter is fading and eventually some up and comer will come along and take him out.

I'd say give Conor 2 to 3 fights and then put him in with someone like Porter.

 

Benn is promising but he's not at Porter's level. He's only lost to Spence, Brook and Thurman and his strength alone would be a massive issue for Benn. People need to chill out about Benn until he fights and beats the likes of Avanesyan. Then we can talk top 3 (Box rec)WWs...

 

he might go on to be good, he's youngish and has done ok so far. i think it's fair to say base on what we've seen to date that he's neither useless nor a generational talent, but the calibre of opposition so far has been such that it'd be unwise to say much more than this.

 

I thought Porter lost to Ugas and was lucky to get the SD win.

I dunno i don't rate the likes of Porter and Danny Garcia as highly as others. Benn is still an unknown quantity and he needs a couple of big tests like Avanesyan but i have a feeling he'll pull through them.

I just see the likes of Porter and Danny Garcia to be on a downward trajectory where they're going to become shot soon. Benn is young and improving so he may get Porter a bit further down the line.

Porter is world class but he runs hot and cold. When he turns it up it's not quite enough to beat the top level guys. He's very wild and a lot of his punches simply don't land clean.

 

Problem with Benn is the way he's been matched. And while I understand why - he's got virtually no amateur pedigree and is learning on the fly - it means he's yet to face a good mover who can stop him planting his feet to unload his combos or a really strong WW like Porter or Brook who could manhandle him and push him back. We have no idea if he can fight off the back foot. Until he faces one or both of these kind of boxers, I'm reserving judgment.

If you watch his interview after the win against Samuel Vargas he was very happy to mention Khan's name - I think he fancies getting to that chin and Khan is cooked - but when Kell (who is almost as cooked as Khan but bigger and stronger) was suggested as his next opponent he went awfully quiet - actually stopped halfway through 'Kell' when repeating back the name, so he knows where he's at.

The fact he's facing a 21-8 boxer next up speaks volumes of his level at the moment and that's not at Porter's. Fair play to him though, he's dedicated and willing to work hard. We'll see where that takes him over the next 2-3 years...

 

I think so, yeah. I think it depends how motivated Porter is going into the fight. Porter seemed much more motivated for Errol Spence and Keith Thurman because a belt was on the line. Porter fighting Benn is doing Benn a favour more than himself.

This Porter i think is on the decline and Benn is still learning. If the fight happens in the UK then Porter might not be able to use his rough house tactics so much and the ref will constantly be breaking them apart.

Porter may look at a Conor Benn fight as a step back and would be doing it solely for the pay day. Porter's had his day in the sun and been a world champion. Benn is hungrier with less mileage on the clock and i think he's better boxer than people think he is.

His dad thinks he can compete with the Porters of this world and i think he's right even though it's his son and he might be a bit biased.

The Porter Benn will likely fight if he ever does might be a much weaker, shot version.

 

I think that might be to do with the logistics of the sport that his next opponent is not great and he's under matchroom. I think Benn needs his breakout fight to build his confidence and prove himself.

I think he shouldn't hang around to fight a world class operator and needs to fight one after at least his next 3 fights. If he loses then he can come again as he's still young.

I think Hearn might be thinking Spence might vacate and more belts will be available in the future. Or he wants to just put Benn into a ''money'' fight regardless of how good his opponent will be.

I wrote Benn off before but i think he has a lot of grit and determination to at least become a belt holder. He might not ever be the ''top guy''. He probably won't be but i think he can compete or will be competing against a higher standard of opponent soon.

If he wants to fight Khan then it's because Khan is shot and makes money. If after 3 fights he doesn't fight someone like Porter then he may just be a ''Hearn creation''.

I think unless you're ''elite'' then it's very difficult to remain undefeated. There's different styles coming up with Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr and other tough boxers then Benn is going to take a loss eventually regardless.

If i was Hearn i'd take a risk and let Benn come again. I don't think any of the ''new school'' will be left unscathed and remain undefeated.

 

Benn has sparred a few tough guys so i expect he's become a lot smarter in who he wants to fight because of that.

I'm sure he knows his limitations at the moment. Hearn might see him as a ''little earner'' but eventually he may become disposable.

If Hearn ever signs Josh Taylor i could see Benn being thrown to the wolves. Avanesyan might be the one to end the hype but i've seen Avanesyan hurt and since then he went down in competition.

I mean Avanesyan has improved since he fought the corpse of Shane Mosley but he did get beat up by Mean Machine who's a world operator.

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I'm not saying Benn can do what Mean Machine did but since Avanesyan lost he's fought much less opponents.

I think that fight puts into perspective where Josh Kelly was when he fought Avanesyan and the writing was on the wall in the Robinson fight.

If Benn is not ready for Avanesyan i think it will show if he fights a similarly matched opponent before him.

 

I dont rate him

 

Ii guess this depended in what shape Machine was in this moment.
In amateurs Machine had some good wins: he won vs one guy who managed in his am carrier to get Olympic Silver and Euro Gold medal.
I think maybe the best opponent Machine had was Iglesias, highly decorated amateur, 1X Olympic Gold 1X Bronze medalist, World championsip: 1X Gold, 1X Silver, Pan American games : 2X Gold, 1 X Silver etc. If I remember he lost vs Iglesias on points.