Conor Benn takes out Chris van Heerden in two rounds

Conor Benn took out veteran Chris van Heerden 59 seconds into the second round Saturday in Manchester, England.

Conor Benn evidently is ready for the big boys at 147 pounds.

Benn knocked out Chris van Heerden in the second round of a scheduled 12-round welterweight bout Saturday at AO Arena in Manchester, England, his second consecutive stoppage of a veteran opponent.

The 25-year-old son of Nigel Benn KO’d stopped Chris Algieri in four rounds in December.

Benn (21-0, 14 KOs) came out firing at the opening bell, apparently looking for a quick knockout. The Londoner landed some hard shots in the first round but also took some counters from van Heerden, a southpaw from South Africa.

Then, about 45 seconds into Round 2, Benn hurt van Heerden (28-3-1, 12 KOs) with a straight right hand, followed with a vicious flurry and van Heerden went down.

The referee took a good look at the fallen fighter and decided quickly that he couldn’t continue. The official time of the stoppage was 59 seconds of Round 2.

One Errol Spence Jr. had been able to stop the rugged van Heerden.

“Everyone thought [he] would be a problem. I’ll beat anyone in front of me. I’ll stand by that,” Benn said afterward.

Benn will now target an opponent on the next level, according to his promoter, Eddie Hearn.

“The most important thing next for Conor Benn is a big, big fight, a big step up,” Hearn said. “The test tonight was the experience, the southpaw Chris van Heerden.

“It took one round for him to get used to that before he absolutely demolished him. When you demolish the opposition like that, you need to make big jumps.

“Now it’s time for the more serious players in the division. … I’m talking about Mikey Garcia, Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman, Adrien Broner, all these guys, David Avanesyan. We want a big fight, we want a marquee fight.”

A marquee fight for someone who is looking more and more like a marquee fighter.

Conor Benn takes out Chris van Heerden in two rounds

Conor Benn took out veteran Chris van Heerden 59 seconds into the second round Saturday in Manchester, England.

Conor Benn evidently is ready for the big boys at 147 pounds.

Benn knocked out Chris van Heerden in the second round of a scheduled 12-round welterweight bout Saturday at AO Arena in Manchester, England, his second consecutive stoppage of a veteran opponent.

The 25-year-old son of Nigel Benn KO’d stopped Chris Algieri in four rounds in December.

Benn (21-0, 14 KOs) came out firing at the opening bell, apparently looking for a quick knockout. The Londoner landed some hard shots in the first round but also took some counters from van Heerden, a southpaw from South Africa.

Then, about 45 seconds into Round 2, Benn hurt van Heerden (28-3-1, 12 KOs) with a straight right hand, followed with a vicious flurry and van Heerden went down.

The referee took a good look at the fallen fighter and decided quickly that he couldn’t continue. The official time of the stoppage was 59 seconds of Round 2.

One Errol Spence Jr. had been able to stop the rugged van Heerden.

“Everyone thought [he] would be a problem. I’ll beat anyone in front of me. I’ll stand by that,” Benn said afterward.

Benn will now target an opponent on the next level, according to his promoter, Eddie Hearn.

“The most important thing next for Conor Benn is a big, big fight, a big step up,” Hearn said. “The test tonight was the experience, the southpaw Chris van Heerden.

“It took one round for him to get used to that before he absolutely demolished him. When you demolish the opposition like that, you need to make big jumps.

“Now it’s time for the more serious players in the division. … I’m talking about Mikey Garcia, Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman, Adrien Broner, all these guys, David Avanesyan. We want a big fight, we want a marquee fight.”

A marquee fight for someone who is looking more and more like a marquee fighter.

Conor Benn will be ready to fight for world title within year: trainer

Welterweight contender Conor Benn will be ready to fight for a world title within a year, his trainer said.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published at DAZN.com.

Conor Benn’s trainer, Tony Sims, believes Chris van Heerden poses a new threat to his fighter on Saturday in Manchester, England (DAZN) but he expects a victory and then a title fight to follow soon.

Van Heerden, a 34-year-old from South Africa, will be the first southpaw Benn, 25, will have met in competitive boxing.

Benn’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has warned him that the last few fights before a world title can be potential banana skins. The experienced van Heerden is certainly that.

[lawrence-related id=29381,26838,26829]

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Sims admitted that the adjustment to fighting a left-hander has not been easy for Benn.

“It’s been quite a difficult camp, and the reason I’m saying that is he’s never trained to fight a southpaw before,” he said. “He’s boxed a couple of switch-hitters but never really trained for them.

“This camp’s been different because he’s had to prepare for a southpaw. He’s never done 12 weeks of southpaw sparring before. I think the first few weeks were difficult for him because you have to change your whole defensive mechanism and everything that you’re doing, because obviously they’re coming at you in a different way.

“And where he never had much amateur experience, he hasn’t really boxed a southpaw as an amateur or pro. But he’s into the rhythm of it now, and he’s been sparring well the last couple of weeks. So it’s just about getting used to it, really.”

Benn’s ascent up the rankings began in November 2020, when he defeated Sebastian Formella and followed it up with impressive wins over Samuel Vargas, Chris Algieri and Adrian Granados the following year.

“He’s a world-level elite fighter now,” Sims said. “He’s made massive improvements over the past couple of years, but this will just be another bit of experience for him fighting a southpaw.

“I said to him that it’s come at a good time, really, because what you don’t want to be doing is fighting your first ever southpaw for a world title. And it’s the first time you ever prepare for one. So this sort of fight is a good one at this stage of his career.

“Van Heerden is a world-level opponent who’s been in with some of the best fighters in the world, and he’s been about for a long time. He’s experienced, he’s a southpaw, so to get this experience at the stage that he’s at is gonna be invaluable for him moving on.”

Sims believes a world title fight in in the cards for Benn, but he acknowledges there are plenty of contenders in the division.

“We’ll just wait and see what materializes,” he said. “Because with these world titles as well now, where [Errol] Spence is fighting [Yordenis] Ugas, you’re hearing that Spence could go up in weight after. Now will Terence Crawford still hang around at welterweight or will he move up? You don’t know.

“Boxing moves really quick, and it changes rapidly as well. So we’ll just see what happens and take it one step at a time. But hopefully in the autumn he’ll be in a big fight against a good fighter, and I think he’ll be ready to go then.”

He went on: ‘Definitely within the next year, maybe less than that. We’ve just got to see how everything opens up really and see if fighters move up in weight and things become vacant. Then all of a sudden you’ve got loads of challengers vying for the world title. We’ve just got to see how it goes.”

[vertical-gallery id=29384]

Conor Benn will be ready to fight for world title within year: trainer

Welterweight contender Conor Benn will be ready to fight for a world title within a year, his trainer said.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published at DAZN.com.

Conor Benn’s trainer, Tony Sims, believes Chris van Heerden poses a new threat to his fighter on Saturday in Manchester, England (DAZN) but he expects a victory and then a title fight to follow soon.

Van Heerden, a 34-year-old from South Africa, will be the first southpaw Benn, 25, will have met in competitive boxing.

Benn’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has warned him that the last few fights before a world title can be potential banana skins. The experienced van Heerden is certainly that.

[lawrence-related id=29381,26838,26829]

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Sims admitted that the adjustment to fighting a left-hander has not been easy for Benn.

“It’s been quite a difficult camp, and the reason I’m saying that is he’s never trained to fight a southpaw before,” he said. “He’s boxed a couple of switch-hitters but never really trained for them.

“This camp’s been different because he’s had to prepare for a southpaw. He’s never done 12 weeks of southpaw sparring before. I think the first few weeks were difficult for him because you have to change your whole defensive mechanism and everything that you’re doing, because obviously they’re coming at you in a different way.

“And where he never had much amateur experience, he hasn’t really boxed a southpaw as an amateur or pro. But he’s into the rhythm of it now, and he’s been sparring well the last couple of weeks. So it’s just about getting used to it, really.”

Benn’s ascent up the rankings began in November 2020, when he defeated Sebastian Formella and followed it up with impressive wins over Samuel Vargas, Chris Algieri and Adrian Granados the following year.

“He’s a world-level elite fighter now,” Sims said. “He’s made massive improvements over the past couple of years, but this will just be another bit of experience for him fighting a southpaw.

“I said to him that it’s come at a good time, really, because what you don’t want to be doing is fighting your first ever southpaw for a world title. And it’s the first time you ever prepare for one. So this sort of fight is a good one at this stage of his career.

“Van Heerden is a world-level opponent who’s been in with some of the best fighters in the world, and he’s been about for a long time. He’s experienced, he’s a southpaw, so to get this experience at the stage that he’s at is gonna be invaluable for him moving on.”

Sims believes a world title fight in in the cards for Benn, but he acknowledges there are plenty of contenders in the division.

“We’ll just wait and see what materializes,” he said. “Because with these world titles as well now, where [Errol] Spence is fighting [Yordenis] Ugas, you’re hearing that Spence could go up in weight after. Now will Terence Crawford still hang around at welterweight or will he move up? You don’t know.

“Boxing moves really quick, and it changes rapidly as well. So we’ll just see what happens and take it one step at a time. But hopefully in the autumn he’ll be in a big fight against a good fighter, and I think he’ll be ready to go then.”

He went on: ‘Definitely within the next year, maybe less than that. We’ve just got to see how everything opens up really and see if fighters move up in weight and things become vacant. Then all of a sudden you’ve got loads of challengers vying for the world title. We’ve just got to see how it goes.”

[vertical-gallery id=29384]

Conor Benn vs. Chris van Heerden: date, time, how to watch, background

Conor Benn vs. Chris van Heerden: date, time, how to watch, background.

Welterweight contender Conor Benn will try to maintain his hot streak against Chris van Heerden on Saturday in Manchester, England.

Conor Benn (20-0, 13 KOs) vs. Chris van Heerden (28-2-1, 12 KOs)

  • Date: Saturday, April 16
  • Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (7 p.m. in U.K.) (main event later in show)
  • Where: AO Arena, Manchester, England
  • TV/Stream: DAZN
  • Cost: DAZN is $19.99 per month or $99 annually
  • Division: Welterweight (147 pounds)
  • Rounds: 12
  • At stake: No major titles
  • Pound-for-pound ranking: None
  • Odds: Benn 9½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
  • Also on the card: Chris Billam-Smith vs. Tommy McCarthy, cruiserweights; Faroukh Kourbanov vs. Zelfa Barrett, junior lightweights
  • Prediction: Benn UD
  • Background: Benn is evolving into a legitimate welterweight contender. The 25-year-old son of Nigel Benn recorded three solid victories last year, stopping Samuel Vargas, outpointing Adrian Granados and brutally knocking out Chris Algieri. The Algieri fight took place four months ago. Benn, a Londoner, has speed, power and a formidable skill set. He just needs more experience at the highest level of the sport. He is ranked No. 5 by three of the four major sanctioning bodies. Van Heerden, a Los Angeles-based South African, is a solid opponent. The 34-year-old southpaw has lost only one fight since 2010, an eighth-round knockout against Errol Spence Jr. in 2015. However, he has beaten only second-tier opponents and hasn’t been particularly active. He was last in the ring in December 2020, when his fight with fast-rising contender Jaron Ennis lasted less than a full round because van Heerden was cut by a an accidental headbutt. The fight was ruled a no contest.

[lawrence-related id=26838,26829,23379,19272]

[vertical-gallery id=19278]

Conor Benn vs. Chris van Heerden: date, time, how to watch, background

Conor Benn vs. Chris van Heerden: date, time, how to watch, background.

Welterweight contender Conor Benn will try to maintain his hot streak against Chris van Heerden on Saturday in Manchester, England.

Conor Benn (20-0, 13 KOs) vs. Chris van Heerden (28-2-1, 12 KOs)

  • Date: Saturday, April 16
  • Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (7 p.m. in U.K.) (main event later in show)
  • Where: AO Arena, Manchester, England
  • TV/Stream: DAZN
  • Cost: DAZN is $19.99 per month or $99 annually
  • Division: Welterweight (147 pounds)
  • Rounds: 12
  • At stake: No major titles
  • Pound-for-pound ranking: None
  • Odds: Benn 9½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
  • Also on the card: Chris Billam-Smith vs. Tommy McCarthy, cruiserweights; Faroukh Kourbanov vs. Zelfa Barrett, junior lightweights
  • Prediction: Benn UD
  • Background: Benn is evolving into a legitimate welterweight contender. The 25-year-old son of Nigel Benn recorded three solid victories last year, stopping Samuel Vargas, outpointing Adrian Granados and brutally knocking out Chris Algieri. The Algieri fight took place four months ago. Benn, a Londoner, has speed, power and a formidable skill set. He just needs more experience at the highest level of the sport. He is ranked No. 5 by three of the four major sanctioning bodies. Van Heerden, a Los Angeles-based South African, is a solid opponent. The 34-year-old southpaw has lost only one fight since 2010, an eighth-round knockout against Errol Spence Jr. in 2015. However, he has beaten only second-tier opponents and hasn’t been particularly active. He was last in the ring in December 2020, when his fight with fast-rising contender Jaron Ennis lasted less than a full round because van Heerden was cut by a an accidental headbutt. The fight was ruled a no contest.

[lawrence-related id=26838,26829,23379,19272]

[vertical-gallery id=19278]