Just moments after Conor Benn knocked out Chris Algieri spectacularly on Saturday in Liverpool, his dad Nigel Benn – who is boxing royalty – proudly said: “He’s not in my shadow no more.”
But Benn Jr does not agree with the former two-weight world champion.
“I’ll never be out of my dad’s shadows, even if I go on to achieve more than he did,” he says.
“But I don’t see that as a negative. I’m proud of the legacy my dad has left and I’m proud the Benn name is well respected.”
The 25-year-old welterweight put in arguably the performance of his undefeated 20-fight career, ending American Algieri’s night with a stunning straight left-right combination in the fourth round.
Speaking to BBC Sport, he discusses future opponents, as well as how he handles the pressure of carrying the iconic Benn surname – and predicts he will be world champion by early 2022.
‘Pressure makes diamonds’
If you ask any British boxing fan from the 1990s to name their standout fighter, Nigel Benn will be the choice of many.
Now 57, he won the WBO middleweight title in 1990 and was the WBC super-middleweight champion between 1992 and 1996.
His rivalries with Steve Collins and Chris Eubank entertained millions watching on free-to-air television as he quickly became a household name.
Over 25 years on from his last professional bout – a loss to Ireland’s Collins – a heartwarming video showed him cheering on his son’s latest win before dashing to the ring, where the two embraced.
“To see this raw passion and love from my dad – the only time he’s ever been that happy is when he won his own world title. It was emotional watching it,” Benn Jr says.
“The really warming thing is that there are kids who say to him ‘you’re Conor Benn’s dad’ and there are fans who say to me ‘you’re Nigel Benn’s son’ – we get a good crossover.”
From the moment Benn first laced the gloves, comparisons with his dad were, quite naturally, going to be made.
“That early pressure was horrible,” he admits. “It wasn’t nice.”
After making his professional debut in 2016, he was dropped twice in his 10th bout – a controversial points win over Frenchman Cedrick Peynaud.
Boos echoed around York Hall as the Londoner’s hand was raised, but he says that experience, plus public scrutiny, influenced a remarkable turnaround in his career.
“Pressure makes diamonds,” he says. “You learn to deal with it, to make it part of your life. Fighting in front of 20,000-30,000 fans early on in my career has stood me in good stead.
“Now that I’m headlining, I don’t feel nerves. I’m even having 40-minute naps on the day of the fight before I head to the arena.”
‘I’ll show Broner how us Brits do it’
After impressive wins against Germany’s Sebastian Formella last year and a first-round demolition over Samuel Vargas in April, Benn is slowly becoming a marquee name in British boxing.
His latest win led former world champion Carl Frampton to label him as “the most improved fighter in the United Kingdom”, but Benn says his victories are just a product of the hard work carried out in the gym.
“It doesn’t surprise me – we’re always working in the gym to become an all-round better fighter,” he says. “I’m always improving and always evolving so it’s inevitable that is shows on fight night.”
The next assignment is likely to be against American Adrien Broner.
Broner – a four-weight world champion with 34 wins, four defeats and one draw – is one of boxing’s most controversial figures and was most recently arrested in October over an outstanding warrant.
Benn welcomes a potentially heated build-up with the 32-year-old. “If he wants to dish it out, I’ll happily dish it back out at him,” he says.
“I don’t think he will want to carry on with all that round here. I’ll show him how us Brits do it.
“I’ll go to the States and give him a beating. It doesn’t make no difference to me. A ring is a ring. Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck could be sitting ringside – it makes no difference.”
‘I will be world champion in 2022’
The welterweight division is arguably the hottest in world boxing. Errol Spence Jr holds the WBC and IBF titles, while fellow undefeated American Terence Crawford is the WBO champion.
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn says Benn is two fights away from a world title shot, but the boxer says he is ready now and is eyeing up Cuba’s WBA ‘Super’ champion Yordenis Ugas.
“I want that world title next and I fancy my chances against Ugas,” he says.
Another option could be an all-British fight with the winner of the bout between Amir Khan and Kell Brook.
The two ex-world champions will finally put their long-running rivalry to bed when they clash on 19 February in Manchester.
Benn describes Khan-Brook as a “50-50 fight” – but says that while he would “take Khan at four weeks’ notice,” the Bolton boxer is reluctant to ever face him.
“Khan won’t take the fight. I’ve spoken to him,” he says. “Why would he want to fight a young pitbull? I wouldn’t.”
Whether it is Broner, as expected, Khan, Brook, a shot at Ugas, or any other welterweight contender, there is one thing Benn is certain of.
“I will be a world champion in 2022 – that goes without saying,” he says.
