{"id":28084,"date":"2020-11-22T07:00:50","date_gmt":"2020-11-22T07:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mmaexchange.com\/?p=28084"},"modified":"2020-11-22T07:00:50","modified_gmt":"2020-11-22T07:00:50","slug":"benn-impresses-in-step-up-win-over-formella","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mmaexchange.com\/?p=28084","title":{"rendered":"Benn impresses in step-up win over Formella"},"content":{"rendered":"
Mark Robinson\/Matchroom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Conor Benn looked better than ever in a solid win over Sebastian Formella in London.<\/p>\n

Conor Benn has the last name, but there have still been reasonable skeptics about his quality in the ring. Tonight in London, however, the 24-year-old second generation fighter looked terrific for 10 rounds, widely out-pointing Germany\u2019s Sebastian Formella.<\/p>\n

Benn (17-0, 11 KO) found himself in with a tough veteran he couldn\u2019t quite put away, one who never gave up on the fight despite being obviously down big on the cards, and got some valuable rounds. Benn, 24, also never lost focus, showed some depth we haven\u2019t seen before, and made himself look like a genuine, very serious welterweight prospect.<\/p>\n

Scores were 99-92, 99-91, and 100-91 for Benn. Bad Left Hook had it 99-91 for Benn, as well. The British fighter did some damage on Formella (22-2, 10 KO), and came away with some real respect for his opponent\u2019s toughness.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been training hard as you can tell. Every time I get better,\u201d Benn said. \u201cI hit him with a straight 1-2 in round nine, and I thought, \u2018This geezer\u2019s tough.\u2019 I\u2019m not gonna blow everyone out, I\u2019ll wear them down, which is exactly what I\u2019ve done tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a big perforamnce from Conor Benn. It\u2019s now time to move in 2021 through some big steps,\u201d promoter Eddie Hearn said.<\/p>\n

As for those steps, Benn says he\u2019s laser focused on getting a fight with fellow British prospect Josh Kelly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the only fight I\u2019m interested in,\u201d Benn said. \u201cThe only big domestic I want is Kelly. People saying I\u2019m scared and all that, stop talking rubbish. Do I look like a scared fighter? Nah. They should have taken their chance when they could, because I\u2019m on the up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hearn noted that Kelly will be facing European champ David Avanesyan in January, and that if Kelly gets through that, and Benn wins one more fight, a Benn-Kelly bout for summer 2021 could be a big one.<\/p>\n

Fabio Wardley TKO-2 Richard Lartey<\/h2>\n

This win doesn\u2019t mean the 25-year-old Wardley is ready for Anthony Joshua or anything, but it does cement him as a heavyweight prospect to keep an eye on from here, no question. Lartey (14-4, 11 KO) gave Daniel Dubois a little scrap for four rounds before Dubois, a top tier prospect, stopped him in 2019, and he went a full 10 with Nathan Gorman about six weeks ago.<\/p>\n

Here, Lartey was looking like a possible good test for the 25-year-old Wardley (10-0, 9 KO), who has no amateur experience, really a project under manager Dillian Whyte and Matchroom as promoter, but then he shook Lartey with a jab and finished him off with a left hook and a right hand around the other side of the guard. Lartey went down hard and was done there, a really impressive show of raw power from Wardley, and he also set it up nicely, it wasn\u2019t just that he\u2019s strong. He\u2019s a fighter learning on the job and improving at a nice clip.<\/p>\n

\n
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Fabio Wardley with the KO @Fabio_Wardley<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/kg45K7ydgV<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) November 21, 2020<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really happy with the finish. I think that finish answered a few questions,\u201d Wardley said after the fight. \u201cI think that answered if I have single-punch power and if I can hang with big boys, which I can. Once I sit down and get a big shot, I can get you out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just happy to be where I am. I\u2019m moving at a good pace. 10 fights in now, decent opposition. Richard Lartey was a good challenge. I passed that pretty easily. But I don\u2019t want to get too carried away with myself. I still need to build, there\u2019s still things I need to learn. I haven\u2019t got into the second half of a fight, I haven\u2019t got into a real war.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s moving at a great pace. That British title is going to free up, and I think he should be fighting for that,\u201d promoter Eddie Hearn said. \u201cProbably one more fight, he\u2019ll box on the (Povetkin-Whyte 2 card on Jan. 30), and then whoever the Board puts forward (for a British title fight). He\u2019s young, exciting, and he punches very hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

The British title, for what it\u2019s worth, will be contested on Nov. 28, when Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce fight for the British, Commonwealth, and European titles, and Hearn is right that the British title could be vacated after that as the winner looks to get on to bigger things and not sit at domestic level any longer.<\/p>\n

Alen Babic TKO-3 Tom Little<\/h2>\n
\"Mark Robinson\/Matchroom<\/cite>
\n <\/figure>\n

Little seemed to have a plan here, to rope-a-dope a bit and take this to the later rounds of the scheduled eight, but it just didn\u2019t happen. Babic (6-0, 6 KO) was simply too ferocious, had too much gas tank, and just battered Little (10-9, 3 KO) in the second round, then dropped him twice in the third for the stoppage.<\/p>\n

Babic, 30, has become a fan favorite, and for good reason. He\u2019s non-stop action, fearless, pure entertainment. Yes, there are still a lot of questions to answer about him even possibly being a serious contender, several more levels to go, but this is a fun ride as a fan if nothing else. And he\u2019s a likable sort, too, willing to fight all the time, willing to face anyone offered, and wants real challenges if and when he can get them.<\/p>\n

Babic gave Little, 33, credit for his toughness, and says he thinks he broke a couple of knuckles on Little\u2019s head. Promoter Eddie Hearn expects Babic to fight again on the Povetkin-Whyte 2 card, which is tentatively slated for Jan. 30.<\/p>\n

Jez Smith PTS-6 Ben Ridings<\/h2>\n

Ridings was ostensibly the prospect here, but he got a boxing lesson from Jez Smith in a step-up bout. Smith (12-2-1, 5 KO) won on a referee\u2019s score of 60-54, which was totally fair. BLH gave Ridings (3-1, 0 KO) the fifth round by a hair, but that meant a 59-55 score for us. The 26-yerar-old Smith bossed this fight and was simply the better boxer, which was clear even early on. Ridings was never ahead in this fight, never looking like the better man.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old Ridings is a natural middleweight, this had a 166-pound catch or something, they both weighed in under that. But that shouldn\u2019t be an issue for Ridings in theory, as Smith has fought the bulk of his career as a welterweight.<\/p>\n

Good win for Smith, after two straight stoppage losses to Samuel Antwi and Caoimhin Agyarko in Feb. 2019 and July 2020, where he was dropped a total of seven times between the two bouts. Setback for Ridings, obviously, Smith just far too much for him after three wins against true journeymen opponents in 2018-19.<\/p>\n

Liam Davies RTD-6 Sean Cairns<\/h2>\n
\"Mark Robinson\/Matchroom<\/cite>
\n <\/figure>\n

Was a step up for the 24-year-old Davies, not that he wasn\u2019t still a clear favorite. Didn\u2019t turn out to be a competitive fight at all, as Davies (8-0, 3 KO) totally dominated here, winning the vacant English bantamweight title. Davies had his way from the start here, won all six rounds clearly, beat Cairns (7-3, 1 KO) up throughout the fight, had him hurt a few times, did visible damage \u2014 it was one-sided all the way. Cairns was still game and trying, but it was pretty clear during the fifth and sixth rounds that he had no hope left. He was really never in this fight.<\/p>\n

Solid performance for Davies, and given how thin the division is domestically, this is a decent statement win for where he is in his career. Is there world level in his future? Probably not, in all honesty. Is he ready for a Lee McGregor, Cash Farooq, Paul Butler type? Probably would be best to have another fight or two. But someone like Scott Allan or Gary Rae or Ryan Walker or Kyle Williams next would be a useful step.<\/p>\n

Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark Robinson\/Matchroom Conor Benn looked better than ever in a solid win over Sebastian Formella in London. Conor Benn has the last name, but there have still been reasonable skeptics about his quality in the ring. Tonight in London, however, the 24-year-old second generation fighter looked terrific for 10 rounds, widely out-pointing Germany\u2019s Sebastian Formella. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28085,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mmaexchange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28084"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mmaexchange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mmaexchange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mmaexchange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mmaexchange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mmaexchange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mmaexchange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mmaexchange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mmaexchange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mmaexchange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}