Promoter Eddie Hearn says he’s not seen any signs that Conor Benn has suddenly lost his punching power after failing to score a knockout for the second fight in a row against Peter Dobson last Saturday night at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Fans believe that Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) isn’t punching as hard as he used to, and he doesn’t look as muscular as he did when he knocked out guys like Chris Algieri, Samuel Vargas, and Chris Van Heerden.
Hearn says Algieri and Heerden were smaller guys than Benn, and that Dobson and Rodolfo Orozco were both bigger fighters that have fought at 154 and 160.
He says Dobson showed a good chin, taking a lot of big punches during their fight last Saturday, and he certainly did. Dobson also landed some big shots of his own, and appeared to stun Benn several times.
Hearn Downplays Lack of KOs, Cites Size Disparity
“If you look at the knockouts Conor Benn has had, it was really only the Chris Algieri one that was a devastating knockout. A lot of them have been an accumulation of punches,” said Eddie Hearn to the media when asked if Conor Benn had lost his punching power after being forced to go the 12-round distance to defeat Peter Dobson last Saturday night in Las Vegas.
“There’s no doubt that he hits very hard. He hurt Dobson in the twelfth round. I think Dogson has got a good chin, and also, as well, he’s [Benn] is fighting guys a lot bigger.
“That fight was at 151 lbs, and Dobson is a 154-pounder. He’s been fighting there. He’s had a couple of fights at welterweight as well, but he’s really a 154-pounder.
“In his last fight against [Rodolfo] Orozco [last September], he boxed a middleweight, who came down to 154. Go and watch the fight. The size of Orozco is huge in comparison to Conor.
Algieri KO as Benchmark, Sparring Prowess Highlighted
“Don’t forget that Algieri was a light welterweight, and he poleaxed him with a beautiful right hand that landed perfectly on the chin,” said Hearn.
“This is what people are going to say, but Conor Benn still has fantastic power. We have seen it in sparring. He’s icing people nonstop, but against the bigger guys, it’s going to be more difficult to take them out,” said Hearn.
