Connor Benn

Yeah I ate a bit of humble pie when he boxed Ducker I was really impressed with his improvements but against Jameson as you say all the old bad habits back and it looks like they really did a number on Jameson on the scales

 

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could not be getting sh1t handed to him on a plate surely not

 

People need to give him time. Hes not had an extensive amatuer career that much is clear. But hes in the right hands now. Got some good attributes think people will see big improvements over the next few years.

I actually take my hat off to him...would be easy just not to box at all being benns son and living off the name. But hes putting himself on the line in one of the hardest games there is. Looks like hes willing to learn and work hard. I say good luck to him. Far too early to judge properly anyway...wouldnt surprise me if he turns out better than expected tho.

 

He appears to be a student of the game and I'd like to see him do well as comes across as a nice young lad, but unfortunately if your going to be given mainstream sky time then your going to draw criticism. As I say I thought against Ducker he looked very very good but against Jameson he was poor despite being 5lbs heavier day before and god knows how much on the night. His team/him are talking moving fast so again that doesn't give you time, Coldwell was probably closest to it when said targeting Southern Area by end of next year would be good step up for him. You have to remember he is being given opportunities/exposure that other genuine prospects would give their right arm for

 

Don't think the move up to welterweight was a great idea, don't think he'll have the size and power for the weight.
Think he needs bringing down to earth to learn his game though, get him off all these big shows with his flash entrances etc and get him out on a few small scalers.
He does deem to have grown a huge ego over the last year too, lot of daft stuff on his social media and that stupid lat spread he keeps doing at weigh ins and after fights! Looks like he's spending too much time in the wrong type of gym...

 

I get that mate. But is it a real reason to basically write him off. Critisise him overly etc. Not saying you are but the guys careers just starting out. Its a boxing forum so people are completely entitled to opinions. But lets judge him fairly...not because hes getting oppertunities that others maybe arent getting.

Lets be honest how many people in everyday life got an oppertunity because of their dad or a relative or even a friend. We all would have took it.

At least as you said he seems a decent enough kid. Looks like hes willing to work hard and learn. We know hes still learning...hence the reason we ve had a couple of up and down performances. I actually think he ll turn out pretty decent. Hard to tell what level he ll find himself at tho.

 

Couldn't agree more you certainly wouldn't expect him to turn down the opportunities but if your going to get them you have to take both sides. Im uncertain how he will turn out, I would agree that he isn't a very big welter, was interesting and refreshing when he openly said a spar with Davies was cut short as he was taking a beating so maybe knows where he's at, although on social media (as many do) he can come across a bit arrogant he does generally seem a nice lad on camera. Tony Sims appears to be a top coach, as long as the spars are learning rather than macho im sure Burns/Cheeseman/Davies will all bring him on. At the minute I'd say he seems a decent novice if his name was John Smith I wouldn't pick him as a future star, but I wouldn't totally write him off yet. He will certainly get a go at belts based on father/promoter up to him from there. As with all hardworking dedicated kids I wish him all the best. Actually Cheeseman would be a case in point decorated amateur 6won6 5ko same gym but nowhere near the exposure

 

Great post guy. Good balanced post that. My post was really to the usual naysayers. Guys only had about 4 fights everyones aware hes not had an extensive amatuer career. He himself says hes learning. And you ve got them coming on going hes useless. Wont beat anyone etc etc.

Pretty sure the same was done with eubanks junior in the beginning. But again history gets rewriting. Everyone knew he was gonna be half decent afterall etc.

I think benns problems are more mental than physical atm nerves/trying to hard to impress. Seems to want to be like his dad as a fighter. But without the mental or physical attributes. Needs to drop the style sharpish and get to boxing and mixing it up at the right times. Only seen a couple of his fights tho tbh.

 

He's far from useless but he doesn't use his attributes all the time. The one time he seemed to want to box the stoppage came as he had very fast hands, punches were very fluid and he wasn't taking much in return. My main concern with him would be when he abandons that he takes a lot of clean shots, he isn't the biggest welterweight so sooner or later that could land him in trouble. His father seems reasonably content to let his coaches work with him which can only stand him in good stead. There is a queue of up and coming fighters/coaches calling him out as due to learning in the spotlight all his flaws are on show, when eventually they do take a risk it could be the footage of his opponent is hard to find while every second of his career on show to formulate a game plan

 

Its all bad habits that can be trained out of him over time. Cant be easy fighting infront of thousands on your debut with your name being pretty big in the sport. A lot of pressure etc.

I can see them settling him down eventually.

Unfortunately for the unknown to the general public prospects that dont get the chance...people end up complaining about these fights on ppv undercards. Luckily for benn tho the name still generates interest from the general public. Hearn with be getting a relatively cheap undercard fight that most people wont really complain about. There is more deserving prospects out there. But how many are the general public really interested in. The markets not really the boxing enthusiasts. More the casuals cause theres more of them. Agree we have a right to complain about it if we re not happy but at the same time it is what it is. We all understand it. We can still judge him fairly regardless of that tho.

Hes actually pretty decent considering hes still young. No extensive amatuer career to speak of. Still learning and needs experience. Some flaws that still need ironing out etc.

 

Yes I never like when my boxing friends have "Here come the boxing experts" etc whenever a big fight, as your bang on without casuals there is no PPV paydays etc. Benn is a work in progress be interesting to see how it goes. I understand why he is on the cards but don't 100% agree with it. Im fairly sure while he hasn't had bout's he'll have been training from a relatively young age, if he really improves next 12-18 months then you'll probably say yeah he was raw and has been coached now, if still standing still then on the road to nowhere, it's to early to tell yet. For me at Welter on size alone and lack of real real power I'd hazard a guess he will get a British but not a world, that is still a big achievement in my eyes

 

I think what makes it hard to judge nowadays is the oppertunities out there are pretty much limitless with the right promotional companies. We could sit there saying british title/level and yet they can probably win a version of a world title or european title still being at that level depending on opponent.

Even just decent fighters can make great careers for themselves. Could look at this in 5 years time and hes a world title holder or european title holder and yet you were still correct about his level. We ll find out soon enough tho. I see him improving a lot with the proper training and his body developing more...gaining more experience etc in the next few years tbh . Plus they ll pick decent opponents for him.

A bit too soon to call it atm bearing in mind hes still very raw and hes probably never had the proper training hes now getting. Should be clearer in a year or two what level hes gonna end up at.

Expecting big improvements in that time tho otherwise probably wont end well for him in terms of his dads career anyway.

 

I personally think he's turned Pro at least 1-2yr to early.....Then again I'm know expert I'm just a punter who pays to watch. Despite what I've said above I'm looking forward to seeing him develop as he looks to have a lot of potential and by all accounts he's in good hands.

 

Yeah im sure they can buy him a belt so to speak. Should be interesting how it all unfolds regardless. One things for sure he is with the right promoter/coach to be pushed on and improved with almost ideal sparring in house

I'd probably agree with you about turning to early except he could well have struggled badly in amateurs which would reduce his value, anyone other than a "names" son I'd 110% agree with you, Chris Eubanks other son Seb got to ABA quarter final, then lost in area next year so people in crowds etc have seen him beat at that kind of level, a tougher sell than Chris jr or Conor where your selling the name and the unknown