Conor Benn vs. Chris van Heerden | DAZN - 16 April 2022

[skanksta]

It's perfectly fine matchmaking, but I can see why you're a a bit "meh".

It does lack a sense of jeopardy.

[margaret thatcher]

i made a post a while back predicting connor opponents, both algeiri and van heerden were on the list, with honourable mentions to guerrero and hook. it's really easy to see the qualities they are looking for in his opposition

van heerdens another light handed, defensive guy. at this level couldnt they at least mix it up more. how much do you keep learning vs such a similar opponent type? van heerden, algeiri, formella.....pretty much same thing. what about a pressure fighter or something?

[skanksta]

Ya and it's fine for now - "learning on the job" and all that.

[margaret thatcher]

van heerden hasnt even completed a round in the last 2.5 years. his last fight he was about to be stopped early. another guy with no momentum/on the downside

stylistically and in terms of strengths, he's very similar to algieri and formella. he is a southpaw so i there's that, but again they are matching benn very very cautiously, i wish they'd match him vs someone hungry with career energy of their own, or at least greater variance in opponent style/strengths

[emallini]

They will sell this fight on can he do him quicker than Spence, who took 8 rounds to end it.

[margaret thatcher]

spencer already stopped the great sam vargas faster than spence did and algieri faster than spence did

the only possible conclusion is conor > spence

[maverick23]

Van Heerden’s a disappointing opponent. I wouldn’t have had any issue with Hooker.

[gregregegg]

Chris Van Heerden it is.

IS that locked?

A lot of people will hate this, But the only hate from me is his inactivity. He lacks power but i think thats fair enough for connors first real southpaw test.. to me this is another step up in risk, because if herrden hasnt faded and has stayed in the gym he could give connor some problems.

noone had big issue with boots fighting this guy just over a year ago, and boots then is ahead of benn now.

[margaret thatcher]

no one cared enough about that fight to even bother talking about it much, if we are gonna raise that boots fought him, how about conor vs lipinets next for another boots opponent? or is that another match that only haters would suggest

pretty much all conor opponents lack power btw, that's not something special theyre doing because van is a lefty. they clearly arent confident enough to match him vs any decently powerful dudes yet

it's a very similar type of opponent over and over. no one aggressive, mostly all total non-punchers, inactive, seen better days. i just feel he could get better learning experiences vs guys a bit more lively and fresh, and i think he can win doing that too

[Ruthless-RKO]

What’s Hooker’s injury.

[gregregegg]

no one cared enough about that fight to even bother talking about it much, if we are gonna raise that boots fought him, how about conor vs lipinets next for another boots opponent? or is that another match that only haters would suggest

pretty much all conor opponents lack power btw, that's not something special theyre doing because van is a lefty. they clearly arent confident enough to match him vs any decently powerful dudes yet

it's a very similar type of opponent over and over. no one aggressive, mostly all total non-punchers, inactive, seen better days. i just feel he could get better learning experiences vs guys a bit more lively and fresh, and i think he can win doing that too

IF van heerden was orthadox Id be disappointed. The lack power trend is real, and i can see why he is getting hate on it. And if his next orthodox opponent has pathetic power ill be on board, i think he needs to learn to fight with a bit of heat coming back now.

But for you first real southpaw fight seems mental to go in with someone that whacks. You are going to make mistakes and get tagged by the odd strait left, dont need to get knocked out for them..

He needs to fight southpaws at some point, hard to find someone thats not too risky but fans wont moan about... who would of been significantly better as an opponent?

Cody Crowley- would of been better but would of been a giant step up southpaw and still would of been critisised for lacking power.

Alexis Rocha- To me far to risky for your first southpaw fight (if you havent had years in ams fighting them)

Robert Guerrero- Probably perfect, but would of got cruicified for another 38 year old with poor power.

Alexander Besputin- too risky.

He should have already fought 4 southpaws by now so he dosent need a step back (not that i think heerden is), but he didnt and for where he is at i think its a decent fight.

[smiling assassin]

He shouldn’t call out anyone and just crack on with what he’s doing. It’s hard to like someone who calls out every name under the sun and ends up in fights like this. Eddie is building him up to appeal to the masses but anyone with half a clue see it for what it is

[Ruthless-RKO]

He shouldn’t call out anyone and just crack on with what he’s doing. It’s hard to like someone who calls out every name under the sun and ends up in fights like this. Eddie is building him up to appeal to the masses but anyone with half a clue see it for what it is

Yeh, just let it get announced naturally.

[PredatorHayds]

I think he’s been moved quickly considering his lack of amateur experience and also how poor he looked early on in his career.

I thought Algieri would of given him problems.

The reality is that DAZN haven’t got many marketable fighters in the UK and making him the face of the channel puts more pressure on him.
They will shout the big names out but keep looking at this level of opponent to solidify himself fringe World Class (Around the 10-15 mark in the World) for 12/18 months.
They will be waiting for a weak champion to challenge or a vacant belt against a beatable name.

But all credit to Conor he’s improved massively and his work ethic is top notch. He’s obviously studied Burns during training camps and followed suit.

[margaret thatcher]

I think he’s been moved quickly considering his lack of amateur experience and also how poor he looked early on in his career.

I thought Algieri would of given him problems.

The reality is that DAZN haven’t got many marketable fighters in the UK and making him the face of the channel puts more pressure on him.
They will shout the big names out but keep looking at this level of opponent to solidify himself fringe World Class (Around the 10-15 mark in the World) for 12/18 months.
They will be waiting for a weak champion to challenge or a vacant belt against a beatable name.

But all credit to Conor he’s improved massively and his work ethic is top notch. He’s obviously studied Burns during training camps and followed suit.

unfortuntetly for chris algeiri he fought conor benn in december 2021 at 147, not 8 years earlier at 140

[Riddick Bowie]

I'm disappointed with the lack of ambition with Conor's opponents. They're dulling his edge with these easy fights, and the result is going to be an overconfident Conor walking into a Watson/Benn type crash course in real boxing.

Bruno is another one where they forever justified his crappy opponents with the 'Can he stop him faster than Insert Big Name?' angle, as if blasting out a guy at the end of his career and who's suffering jet lag would somehow develop his skill set.

[maverick23]

Fight confirmed for the MEN in Manchester. Not too fussed by it.

Co-main is the Billam Smith vs McCarthy rematch.

[joshj909]

Quite a few of the top Welterweights on Boxrec are getting into their mid 30s with 18/25 now 30+ and 12/25 now 33+. 7/11 of those ranked above Benn at 12th (god knows how) are 33+. I can see Benn spending a few more years against has-beens and neverbeens until there are some vacant belts up for grabs. He'll no doubt avoid Ennis and Ortiz like the plague even 5 years down the line.

[tony1234]

Three DAZN shows between now and 16th April, hardly worth bothering with anymore. If you are going to have a subscription app you need more content than that.
This Benn fight hardly whets the appetite either, would have been ok as a filler on a better card but it's hardly must see.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Press Release

Conor Benn will defend his WBA Continental Welterweight Title against South Africa’s Chris Van Heerden at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday April 16, live worldwide on DAZN (excluding New Zealand and Australia).

‘The Destroyer’ (20-0, 13 KOs) secured a stunning knockout win over former World Champion Chris Algieri last time out in December, taking out the American with a brutal right hand in the fourth round of their top of the bill clash at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.

The 25-year-old contender from Essex holds top ten rankings with the WBA, WBO and IBF after notching three wins during a breakout 2021 – and the British star believes that 2022 will be an even bigger year for him as he works towards a World Title shot.

‘The Heat’ (28-2-1, 12 KOs), born in Johannesburg, South Africa, previously held the IBO Welterweight World Title from 2011 until 2013, beating Kaizer Mabuza, Sebastian Andres Lujan and Matthew Hatton during his Title reign.

Now residing in Santa Monica, California, USA the 34-year-old southpaw is eager to test himself against one of the fastest rising Welterweights in world boxing and should provide valuable rounds having only been stopped once by Errol Spence in 32 fights.

A huge undercard sees Bournemouth’s European Cruiserweight Champion Chris Billam-Smith (14-1, 10 KOs) rematch Belfast’s former champion Tommy McCarthy (18-3, 9 KOs) following their epic back and forth battle at the Matchroom HQ last summer.

‘The Gentleman’ withstood a late fightback from McCarthy as he edged out a narrow split points decision to add the British and European Cruiserweight Titles to his Commonwealth Title, before defending his EBU crown with a points win over Dylan Bregeon in Sheffield.

Manchester Super-Featherweight contender Zelfa Barrett (27-1, 16 KOs) looks to build on his impressive IBF World Title Eliminator win over Australia’s Bruno Tarimo on the Parker vs. Chisora 2 undercard when he challenges European Champion Faroukh Kourbanov (19-3, 3 KOs) – a former opponent of Joe Cordina.

Hard hitting Cruiserweight talent Jordan Thompson (12-0, 10 KOs) has scored two big first round knockouts since putting pen to paper on a promotional deal with Eddie Hearn last June, and the 28-year-old from Manchester will be out to impress his home fans again as he works towards his first Title shot in 2022.

Hyde Lightweight prospect Campbell Hatton (6-0, 2 KOs) quickly returns to action after earning the best win of his career over Joe Ducker last month, Little Lever’s Jack Cullen (20-3-1, 9 KOs) aims to bounce back from his stoppage loss to Kevin Lele Sadjo in December and Alnwick Welterweight Cyrus Pattinson (3-0, 1 KO) hopes to make it two wins from two fights in 2022.

"I’m excited to step into the ring with Chris Van Heerden," said Benn. "Van Heerden is a tough operator and a southpaw who will be in there giving it his all in every round. For me and my team it’s now about fighting every style that we can face as we continue to head towards World Championship status and Van Heerden brings something different to the table than I’ve not faced before.

"With that being said this is another stepping stone for me on my journey to the top, I haven’t seen anything in Van Heerden’s previous fights that I can’t deal with, and I expect another explosive victory on April 16. If he comes to fight or he wants to box, I can deliver that smoke either way! The AO Arena has to be one of the most exciting venues to fight in. I love Manchester. I get shown a lot of love and support up in Manchester – it’s a fighting city. I bring the entertainment every time I fight and I can’t wait for April 16.”

"Sometimes it takes 10 years for that one year to come around that completely changes your life," said Van Heerden. "This is my year. I want to thank Conor Benn for taking the fight, knowing that I'm coming to beat him in his backyard. I also want to thank Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing for taking this risk and my manager Peter Kahn for getting this fight done. I am looking forward to putting on a show in Manchester on DAZN."

“Conor Benn is fast becoming one of the biggest stars in British Boxing and he faces by far the toughest test of his career to date when he takes on Chris Van Heerden in Manchester on April 16,” said Matchroom Sport Chairman Eddie Hearn. “Van Heerden has mixed at the very highest level and faced fearsome Welterweight ‘Boots’ Ennis last time out before the fight was ruled a no contest due to a clash of heads - he always comes to fight, and I expect a gruelling battle for Conor. We are building an action-packed card and already announce the rematch of one of the Fight of the Year contender between Chris Billam-Smith and Tommy McCarthy and local star Zelfa Barrett challenges for the European Title. I expect another blistering statement from Conor Benn live worldwide on DAZN.”

“We are excited to welcome back one of the brightest prospects in boxing, Conor Benn, to the platform when he takes on former IBO Welterweight Champion Chris Van Heerden on April 16,” said Ed Breeze, EVP Rights at DAZN. “This is another huge test for Conor as he continues his quest to capture a World Title in 2022. We pride ourselves in having the best schedule in boxing, and with the announce of this matchup in April and early May you will see Canelo Alvarez, Ryan Garcia, GGG, Taylor vs. Serrano and Conor all fighting live on DAZN.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Tickets are priced £40, £60, £100, £150 and £300 (VIP). FightPass tickets will be available to purchase for Matchroom Boxing FightPass members from midday on Thursday March 10 via StubHub (www.stubhub.co.uk) and Matchroom Boxing (www.matchroomboxing.com). General Sale tickets will be available to purchase from midday on Friday March 11 via StubHub (www.stubhub.co.uk) and the AO Arena (www.ao-arena.com).

[daz74]

Three DAZN shows between now and 16th April, hardly worth bothering with anymore. If you are going to have a subscription app you need more content than that.
This Benn fight hardly whets the appetite either, would have been ok as a filler on a better card but it's hardly must see.

6 shows covering your timeline

12th march Nottingham
19th march LA
26th march Leeds
9th april Japan
9th april Texas
16th april Manchester
30th
7th

[KiwiRider]

Well that's disappointing,Van Heerden seems like another perfect patsy.
I've only seen Van Heerden in one fight - against Boots. It was dreadful.
Skip the intros and its a short watch. Basically Van Heerden runs from Ennis showing nothing.

[margaret thatcher]

non puncher (no stoppages in last 7 years)

defensive fighter who quickly enters survival mode when overmatched

hasn't completed a full round since august 2019

has a 'benn stopped him faster than ___' comparison point


fits the benn matchmaking algorithm pretty well. another guy who isnt risky as a puncher and is more to tee off on than to give benn a 2 way fight for any period of time. he's a southpaw , so i guess that's new for benn. my main wish is that they'd mix up the type of opponent more. it's pretty much been the non punching, backfoot guys for the last 3 years.

how about: ivan golub, lucas santamaria, sergey lipinets, abel ramos, essuman, kava, or ava

[gregregegg]

Lands a few right hooks on ennis but nothing meaningfull. hard to hold it against him not being on boots levle. I havent really seen much heerden but i dont mind Benn getting a semi decent southpaw sorted now rather than getting to world levle and having no southpaw experience..

But if benn stops him in under 6 rounds he should fight again in july. Cant just fight a couple of rounds twice a year...