Tonight in Liverpool, unbeaten welterweight contender Conor Benn scored a very impressive 4th round KO over former 140-pound champ Chris Algieri. Benn, facing the most experienced opponent of his career to date, landed a massive right hand to the chin that dropped Algieri heavily, instantly ending the fight. 25-year-old Benn is now 20-0(13). Algieri, who was in great shape at age 37, falls to 25-4(9).
Benn showed great maturity and composure tonight, in passing the toughest test of his pro career. Algieri tried to box and looked for holes in Benn’s defence yet there really were none. Benn, who promised a statement win, delivered in style.
Benn scored a knockdown in the second round when a left hand to head bundled Algieri over, the veteran former champ insisting he had slipped. Algieri was not hurt but Benn’s time would come. There was a sense of inevitability tonight.
Watched by his father, former 160 and 168-pound champ Nigel Benn, Conor put it all together in his big test/ Algieri tried his best and he landed the odd shot but he was never able to get anything going. Benn basically shone tonight, and the ending was chilling.
A KO of the Year contender no doubt, the finish from Benn was instant highlight reel material. Next up, who knows, it could be Adrian Broner – both Benn and promoter Eddie Hearn want the fight, but will Broner agree?
There seems to be no stopping Benn; a fighter who is far more than just the son of a legend. A ferocious worker in the gym, Benn has the definite look of a future world champion. As for Algieri, he too always keeps himself in good physical shape and he did come to fight, but retirement seems to be his only option. Algieri was badly hurt at the end and he was on the canvas for quite some time. Even when he had regained his feet, Algieri looked truly stunned.
Benn ticked all the boxes with tonight’s performance if you’ll forgive the oft-used term. The sky is the limit for Benn, arguably the most exciting young fighter in the UK right now.
