Conor Benn Wins, But That Nickname May Need To Be Retired

Conor Benn got the win on Saturday night, over solid vet Peter Dobson.

This occasion perhaps could be remembered as offering brutal truth, in that watchers saw someone in need of a nickname change. “The Destroyer” is not really appropriate for the skill set the 27 year old Brit showed against the 33 year old Bronxite Dobson in Las Vegas, on DAZN.

Not sure what nickname Benn might consider but yeah, the dude who took it to Chris Van Heerden (KO2) and Chris Algieri (KO4) isn’t on the scene. Could THAT Benn return?

“Haters” and even regular old fans who’ve followed Benn’s trajectory the last couple years might tell me NO.

Benn seemed poised to roll over Dobson during the week but on fight night the task wasn’t handled in a manner befitting a “Destroyer” (Photo courtesy Matchroom)

They’d reason that Benn’s efficacy has dipped because he got busted for PED usage and is no longer enjoying the advantages afforded by exotic and illegal performance enhancers.

Benn has and would tell those folks that they are off base.

But yeah, I didn’t see a boxer worthy of a ring emcee’s superfluous excitation in announcing “The Destroyer” to viewers, because in plenty of portions over 12 rounds you couldn’t really discern who exactly the A side was supposed to be on Saturday.

No, Dobson didn’t get screwed, the judges got it right pretty much.

Check out the stats, from CompuBox.

It roughly tells the tale of the fight I watched.

Benn started strong, then Dobson figured out that yeah, he wasn’t fighting the same sort as the guy who stopped Van Heerden and Algieri. 

The New Yorkers’ confidence grew and he fought more like someone who thought they had a chance to win, instead of mirroring a “sparring partner” mindset, and doing enough to hang in there.

I enjoyed watching and listening to the talent of Benn’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, postfight.

He’s a master of narrating, he showed that when he switched gears from what he’d said earlier in the week.

“Conor needs a conclusive KO” is basically what Eddie told press fight week. After that didn’t happen, Hearn offered cover to his guy.

He noted that the black cloud of the PED flap and Benn’s status in the eyes of British regulators affected the son of the UK ATG Nigel Benn. Conor is working his way back to form, he stated, which is what the boxer told questioners after Benn rose to 23-0, 14 KOs vs Dobson (now 16-1).

Hearn is not a fool, not even half.

He knows I think what Benn is, and what he’s not.

This Benn, for whatever reason, is a good boxer. But not a “destroyer” and perhaps at the height of his capability.

Hearn wants to book the biggie, the Benn Vs Eubank Jr scrap, sooner rather than later, which is a judicious choice, being that present day Benn is a harder product to gush over and sell than was the Benn who represented his nickname properly.