At least one rival promoter wasn’t especially impressed with Conor Benn’s brief tour of the United States.
England’s Benn beat two unknown opponents over a 4½-month span to remain active while the status of his British boxing license remains unsettled. It was a necessary detour for Benn from fighting in his home country, but Tom Brown wondered during an interview with BoxingScene.com whether Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) did more harm to his brand than good by defeating Rodolfo Orozco and Peter Dobson unanimously in respective 10-round and 12-round fights that went the distance.
Brown, whose TGB Promotions is the primary promoter for Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions, doesn’t think either of Benn’s two wins in the U.S. enhanced his reputation.
“Eddie talks about building this guy into a star in the U.S.,” Brown said in reference to Eddie Hearn, whose company, Matchroom Boxing, promotes Benn. “You know, putting him in a small ballroom in Orlando, underneath Richardson Hitchins, and then the big bump up is a morning start at The Cosmo, that’s hardly the way to build a star. I guess maybe he’s trying to build a matinee idol. When the show started, most people in Las Vegas are coming back to their rooms after a Friday night out.”
Benn’s victory over Dobson (16-1, 9 KOs) headlined a card that began at 11 a.m. PT at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas to accommodate DAZN’s viewing audience in the United Kingdom. Even though it went the distance, Benn-Dobson concluded just after 11 p.m. GMT in England.
The 27-year-old Benn’s defeat of Orozco (33-4-3, 25 KOs) was DAZN’s co-feature before junior welterweight contender Richardson Hitchins beat Jose Zepeda by unanimous decision in their 12-round main event September 23 at Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, Florida.
Ilford’s Benn hopes to fight in England again sometime in the summer, but that will depend on the outcome of the British Boxing Board of Control and UK Anti-Doping appeal of Benn’s reinstatement. The National Anti-Doping Panel’s decision to lift Benn’s suspension in July has been challenged by the BBBofC and UKAD, but Benn’s appellate hearing hasn’t been scheduled.
Benn twice tested positive for clomiphene, a banned substance, in performance-enhancing drug exams administered by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association prior to his domestic showdown with family rival Chris Eubank Jr. Eubank-Benn was canceled two days in advance of when it was scheduled to take place – October 8, 2022, at O2 Arena in London – because Benn failed those two tests.
Hearn wants to reschedule Eubank-Benn as soon as possible, but Eubank (33-3, 24 KOs) has turned down three times what he can make for any other fight, according to Hearn.
“He better hope the British Boxing Board of Control gives the kid a license,” Brown said, “and he gets that Chris Eubank fight made because this kid is gonna be one and done after the way he looked in his last two fights. He fought a club fighter from Mexico and Peter Dobson, another club fighter from the USA. It looks like ‘The Destroyer’ is no longer armed with torpedoes. His last two fights tell you that.”
Despite Benn’s PED ordeal and Eubank’s TKO loss to Liam Smith in January 2023, Eubank-Benn would still do big business in the UK in large part due to the legacies of their famous fathers.
Chris Eubank stopped Benn’s dad, Nigel, in the ninth round of their memorable WBO middleweight title fight in November 1990 at National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England. Their fathers fought to a split draw in their 12-round rematch, which occurred in October 1993 at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester, England.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.