Conor Benn (19-0, 14 KOs) got the job done in defeating the always tough Adrian ‘El Tigre’ Granados (21-9-3, 15 KOs) by a 10 round unanimous last Saturday night at the Headingley Stadium in Leeds, England. The scores were 99-91, 100-90, and 97-93.
The smaller, weaker Granados, 32, rarely stayed in one place for any length of time, as he wasn’t going to be a sitting duck for Benn to unload on like was hoping. In the 10th round, Benn tried to get Granados to engage by fighting off the ropes, but he wasn’t willing to do so the way he wanted
. Granados did mix it up briefly, but then he gave up and moved back to the center ring. He obviously knew his limitations, and he wasn’t going to risk getting clipped by Benn.
Granados wisely circled the ring for most of the contest, making it hard for Benn to land shots cleanly. Benn was desperate to land his shots and overthrowing everything to try and score a knockout.
In the fifth round, Benn threw a wild left hook that missed, causing him to spin completely around in an amateurish way. It made Benn look bad.
When Granados would go on the attack, he found it easy to land his punches on Benn, who would back away from him rather than stand his ground. It was surprising to watch Benn back away from the smaller and much weaker Granados.
Had Been stood his ground on those occasions, he would have looked better and had more chances to connect. That’s a part of Benn’s game that he will need to change if he wants to have any chance of success against the top welterweights.
Right now, you’d have to rate Benn below the other young contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Benn frustrated
“It was very frustrating. He was talking like we were going to come together like Mack trucks, and it’s going to be a great fight for the fans, but he was on his bike the whole time,” said Benn to DAZN, talking about Granados.
“I was ready to go toe-to-toe and let him have it, but he didn’t want to have it, which I done. You know when a Mexican don’t want to engage, you can only half dig,” said Benn.
If Benn wants a tear up, he must accept the fight with EBU welterweight champion David Avanesyan. He’s been trying to get a fight against Benn lately, but there’s no interest.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. or Jaron Ennis are two others that Benn would have no problems getting a tear up. However, Benn doesn’t appear to be ready for either of these guys or Avanesyan. Benn isn’t ready to fight those guys yet, and it’s unclear when he will.
“I thought he’d circle for the first couple of rounds, and then when you’re watching him in his videos in his fights, he normally comes in gazes,” said Benn’s trainer Tony Sims about Granados.
“But he was totally negative tonight, unfortunately, and it didn’t make for a great fight. But it was a great learning fight for Conor.
“It was his second or third world-class opponent he’s been in with. It was a great learning fight. He won every round of the fight. He keeps moving on from here, and he keeps learning,” Simms said of Benn.
“Eddie, I need to headline here, Mate. We need to make that happen,” said Benn.
Hearn wants to match Benn against Adrian Broner
“Perfect fight for him,” said Eddie Hearn when asked if he’d like to match Benn against Adrien Broner at the end of the year.
“He [Benn] was frustrated because he wanted to come out and do his normal destruction job. It doesn’t always work like that.
“Sometimes, people like Granados feel the power early and come to survive. Conor was wild early on. It took a couple of rounds to settle down. He needs to do rounds.
“There’s nothing wrong with that. Granados is an experienced fighter. He’s been in with Broner, [Danny] Garcia, and Porter. Trust me, that was a solid 10 rounds in the bank. Now we move on for a big fight in December,” said Hearn about Benn.
It’s a longshot for Hearn to get Adrian Broner to agree to fight Benn in December. Broner is used to getting big paydays, and he’s someone that needs a lot of time to get in shape. Broner tends to pack on the pounds in between fights.
