CONOR BENN has been backed by his trainer to be the next pay-per-view star and replicate legendary dad Nigel by becoming must-watch TV. Benn carries all the same excitement to the ring that his iconic father once did, which made him one of Britain’s most celebrated fighters. Anthony Joshua currently leads the way as the […]
CONOR BENN has been backed by his trainer to be the next pay-per-view star and replicate legendary dad Nigel by becoming must-watch TV.
Benn carries all the same excitement to the ring that his iconic father once did, which made him one of Britain’s most celebrated fighters.
Anthony Joshua currently leads the way as the nation’s biggest box office attraction, followed by his heavyweight rivals.
But Benn’s famous surname and explosive style of his own puts him in prime position to emerge as the next PPV fan-favourite.
His trainer Tony Sims told SunSport: “I think he will be.
“The word from Sky Sports is that apart from the heavyweight pay-per-view stars, i.e Anthony Joshua, Dillian Whyte, Derek Chisora, Conor Benn is the biggest attraction on Sky.
“He brings in the most viewers. The reason he does that is because of excitement.
“Maybe he will go down in the fight, maybe he’ll get up and knock him out.
“You don’t know what he brings to the table and that’s what makes him exciting. That’s why we liked watching Nigel Benn years ago.
“From the fighters around in Nigel’s dad, Chris Eubank, Steve Collins, Michael Watson, Nigel was the one people really wanted to watch as he brings excitement.
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“He went down sometimes, he knocked out a lot of people, he got back up. As soon as Nigel Benn was on the telly people tuned in.
“As soon as Conor Benn is on the telly people tune in and that’s the difference between pay-per-view fighters and non pay-per-view fighters.”
Benn Jr is having no problem making a name for his own in the ring and headlines his second consecutive show, on Saturday live on Sky Sports Main Event.
His last, a ten-round win over ex-IBO champion Sebastian Formella, was a career best.
Now Benn welcomes experienced Canadian-Colombian Samuel Vargas back to English shores, his biggest step up to date.
As always with the 24-year-old, eyeballs will be fixed on how he deals with the leap in competition.
It is the same sort of intrigue that led to Ricky Hatton’s son, Campbell, receiving huge attention when he made his pro debut in late March.
Sims understands the trials which comes with trying to fill the massive boxing boots left behind by a father adored by boxing fans.
But the esteemed coach is joined by several others in pointing out that welterweight contender Benn is far more than the son of a legend.
He said: “They’re under a severe amount of pressure, a lot more pressure than a normal fighter who would go under the radar.
“With Conor Benn, Campbell Hatton, Chris Eubank Jr, everyone sees them from their first ever fight and judge them from that as well.
“Conor’s not just Nigel’s son anymore, as a fighter he’s bringing his own finesse, skills, development, power into the boxing game.
“He’s not a carbon copy of Nigel at all, he’s more rounded than Nigel was but he carries Nigel’s power in both hands.
“He’s still very exciting like Nigel was. He’s developing his own name in the game now as Conor Benn, not just Nigel’s son.”
Benn is currently ranked No11 in the WBA, and has already called out Amir Khan and Kell Brook, both 34, for potential blockbusters at the end of the year.
And while cornerman Sims welcomes either domestic bouts, he stresses the importance of first testing themselves against Vargas, who was beaten by Khan in Birmingham in 2018.
He explained: “On paper it looks like the right fight for him.
“Obviously it’s a tough fight because of the experience Sammy Vargas brings and Conor Benn doesn’t bring that sort of experience.
“But that’s why the fight is good for him, by beating these kinds of fighters he gains that experience he needs to move on to the next level.
“Conor Benn needs to gain experience from different fighters, different styles, good fighters if you’re gonna talk about him going on to world level and in world title fights he needs to fight these sort of opponents and come through them.”
(@skysportsboxing)