Conor Benn (20-0, 13 KOs) took advantage of a mental error on the part of former WBO light welterweight champion Chris Algieri (25-4, 9 KOs) in knocking him out in the fourth round on Saturday night at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England.
The 25-year-old Conor Benn, the son of the famous former world champion Nigel Benn, landed a perfect left-right combination to the head of the 37-year-old Algieri in the fourth round to knock him clean out. The time of the stoppage was at 2:58 of the fourth.
Algieri was out cold as he felt to the canvas as if he’d been shot. To his credit, Benn showed class by not hitting the defenseless Algieri as he fell.
Conor realized that it would have looked bad if he’d gone for the needless coupe de grace while his stricken opponent Algieri was on his way down to the canvas.
Seeing how hurt Algieri was, the referee Bob Williams immediately halted the fight because there was no need to count. Algieri was hurt and incapable of getting up quickly to resume the battle on the canvas.
Moments before the knockout, Algieri had been bothered by the several stiff jabs that Benn had hit him with. Algieri made a mistake by backing up against the ropes rather than staying in the center of the ring. This allowed Benn to come forward and get in punching range to land a hard left-right combination that knocked him out.
Had Algieri remembered Samuel Vargas’s mistake last April against Benn, he wouldn’t have backed up to the ropes because that made him a sitting duck the same Samuel was in his first-round knockout loss.
Benn’s last opponent Adrian Granados showed much more ring IQ than what we saw from Algieri tonight, as he didn’t make repeated mistakes of backing up against the ropes like we saw tonight. You can argue that Algieri’s ring IQ is overrated because he fought poorly.
Two rounds earlier, the referee had blown a call by giving Benn credit for a knockdown after Algieri tripped over his lead foot while nailing him with a big shot. Thankfully, that mistake on the referee’s part didn’t play a role in the fight’s results because that would have been troubling.
After the fight, Benn got a little carried away, boasting about how his win over an over-the-hill 37-year-old Algieri was evidence that he’s one of the best fighters at 147 and ready for a world title.
The reality is, Algieri is old and a part-time fighter at this point in his carer, and the fact that Benn beat him doesn’t have any meaning other than he could beat a washed-up guy.
If Benn wants to prove he’s ready for a world title, he needs to defeat one of these guys:
- Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis
- Vergil Ortiz Jr.
- David Avanesyan
- Danny Garcia
Benn, 25, is older than the 24-year-old Ennis and 23-year-old Vergil Ortiz, so there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be trying to fight either of those guys.
Interestingly, Benn or his promoter Eddie Hearn mentioned none of those fighters after the fight. Instead, Hearn was talking about wanting to match Benn against Arien ‘The Problem’ Broner, who is shot to pieces at this stage in his career.
Benn talked of wanting to fight the winner of the Amir Khan vs. Kell Brook fight, and both of those guys are also considered over-the-hill.
In other results, female IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO welterweight champion Katie Taylor (20-0, 6 KOs) stayed unbeaten with a 10- round unanimous decision win over Firuza Sharipova (14-2, 8 KOs). The judges had it 98-92, 97-92, and 96-93.
Light welterweight Robbie Davies Jr (22-3, 15 KOs) stopped the 37-year-old journeyman Hank Lundy (31-9-1, 14 KOs) by a second knockout. Davies landed a hard right hand that caused Lundy to fall out of the ring. Although Lundy tried to get back in the ring, the contest was stopped. The time of the stoppage was at 1:23 of the round
Unbeaten super featherweight contender Joe Cordina (14-0, 8 KOs) put on a masterclass in defeating Miko Khatchatryan (13-1, 7 KOs) by a lopsided 10 round unanimous decision. The judges’ scores were 100-90, 98-92, and 98-92