Conor Benn patient for big fights ahead of “stepping stone” Chris van Heerden
“He’s tough, he’s durable, he’s been in with the best, he’s my first southpaw so it represents some sort of different struggle, well, I wouldn’t say struggle, but he has different capabilities to anyone else I’ve fought.”
Conor Benn was asked to summarise what South African veteran Chris van Heerden will bring to challenge him in the Manchester Arena on Saturday night. Van Heerden, who is based in California, is a tough 32-fight veteran who boxes in the UK for the first time.
Benn is under no illusions about what his team believe van Heerden is, they see him as a stepping stone.
“I’d rather fight a southpaw now than jump to the likes of the top boys and that be my first experience against a southpaw,” added the 25-year-old.
Van Heerden, in the build-up, said he didn’t think Benn could box and implied that he’s one-dimensional and he doesn’t subscribe to the Benn hype.
“He can’t believe that,” Benn went on. “I feel like someone’s giving all my opponents a script, it’s all the same rubbish, really, but we all know what happens when they overlook or make assumptions that I can’t punch or I can’t box or whatever it is, so I plan on going out there and showing what I’m all about again.”
Is van Heerden the best he’s faced, or is he just different, being a southpaw?
“He’s different,” Benn said. “They’re all completely different, the last four-five fights have all been completely different. Sebastian Formella had just come off a loss to Shawn Porter, he’s been tricky, been negative, done 12 rounds numerous times, not a heavy puncher. Sammy Vargas on the other hand gave Vergil Ortiz good rounds, gave Khan good rounds and then you had Adrian Granados who was awkward, I had to learn to cut off the ring which I improved on and demonstrated in the Algieri fight. Algieri was a better overall fighter than all of them and now van Heerden, first southpaw, he’s like a Vargas and Algieri put together.”
Benn’s recent form has been impressive and he’s coming off a career best win over Algieri but there are many who want to see him tested in a hard fight at a high level. He’s sure he has what it takes to win when the going gets tough against some of the better fighters in the division.
“I know what I’m made of, I know what I’m about,” he continued. “I do sometimes question it though and I feel you always have to question it when you’re in the position I’m in and you make yourself aware of the situation you’re in, for example, me living the life I live, which is a very nice life, am I complacent? And you have to ask yourself these questions and be honest with yourself. And there are no tell-tale signs of that. I don’t have to get dropped in a fight to know I’ll get up, because I know I’ve got that dog in me. I know I don’t have to come back from a cut or adversity because I know that’s who I am and what I’m about… In my training, my mindset, my approach to life, it’s the way I am, so we’ll save the hard fights for when they need to be hard fights, because there will be hard fights ahead but I plan on making this fight exactly like it’s supposed to be, which is a stepping stone.”
Past warriors have said that only in the heat of the most epic battles have they found out what is in them, but Benn has no doubt in his mind that he has the type of drive and ambition needed to grind out results when the going gets as tough as it gets.
“At the end of the day, it shows in your training,” Conor explained. “It shows when you’re on your own, when you’re running early hours in the morning, when you’re getting up out of bed and you make sure you’re prepared. You expect it, I’m in bed twitching, all night with the fight in my head, so I don’t believe you have to go through those fights all the time to know what you’re made of. In sparring, you just know what’s in you. I don’t go round bragging, ‘ I know I can do this…’ Because ultimately it does show on the night, but my hunger and desire and will to win outweighs everything. My whole life is put on hold and I can’t lose. I don’t know losing. It’s just not an option for me.”
It’s now common to hear Benn’s name mentioned among the better fighters at 147. He wants to fight the best in the division now but there has been public clamour for him to box world leaders, or certainly those just shy of being in the top five or 10. But Benn has belief in his braintrust, in Matchroom and in trainer Tony Sims.
“It’s funny because people get impatient but you need to learn from as many fights as you can,” Conor concluded. “If I hadn’t had the learning fights I’ve had, I wouldn’t have progressed the way I have to put myself in line for a world title. I wouldn’t be where I am now if I’d listened to the general public, but the reason they’re the general public and not boxing promoters or managers and advisors, is they’re the general public. It would be all well and easy saying, ‘Yeah I’ll fight Kell Brook after my fourth pro fight,’ if I wanted, but it’s a bit silly really. At the end of the day, we’re taking the right steps for me to reach my potential and to be the best version of myself when I challenge for a world title, when I challenge Errol Spence, Crawford, Ugas, I’ll be in my prime, tip-top shape, I’ll be ready. Not saying I’m not ready now, but there are so many levels to the sport of boxing that we’re just taking it gradually. We’ve got time. I’m 25 years old. We’ve just got to be patient because it will come. The big nights will come. The world title will come. We’ve just got to be patient.”
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