Conor Benn will be on familiar territory in North London on April 11th, and he plans to show the world just why he’s one of the biggest stars in British boxing. Benn, the son of former middleweight and super middleweight champion Nigel Benn, fought Chris Eubank Jr. – the son of Nigel’s big rival, Chris Eubank Sr .– in a two-fight series that captured the imagination of the UK’s sports-watching public. While Benn lost a thrilling first fight on the scorecards, he came storming back in the rematch to drop Eubank twice en route to a wide unanimous decision victory. Now a legitimate star in his homeland, “The Destroyer” is looking to take his talents international. Benn signed with Zuffa Boxing and will step out under the bright lights of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium once again as he faces off against former junior welterweight champion Regis Prograis in support of the Tyson Fury vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov main event, a show which streams live globally on Netflix on Saturday, April 11th.
“Never in my life did I dream of being where I am now,” said Benn as he sat down with Zuffa Boxing ahead of fight night in London. “A third stadium show, back-to-back. Signed a mega-deal with Zuffa Boxing. Had the Fight of the Year last year, came back to claim victory over my arch-nemesis, the family feud, for a year (long) rivalry. At middleweight, and now dropping back down to 150 (pounds) to have my third stadium show within a year. I never thought I’d be in the position I’m in now. But, by God’s grace and His mercy, I’m here.”
Benn made headlines on both sides of the Atlantic when it was announced that he had signed a deal with Zuffa Boxing. It sparked plenty of comment and debate over the move, but while almost every talking head in the boxing media has offered their take on his situation, Benn remains clear that he’s made the right call, and he’s excited for what the future may hold. “It was definitely one of the best decisions I've made in my career to date,” he said. “It's a platform (and) profile that's planning to take over by storm, you know? To have Nick Khan and Dana White behind it, you’ve seen what they've done with combat sports already, so they're a force to be reckoned with. And I'm glad that I get to be a part of it.”
On April 11th, Benn will make the walk for his 26th career fight, almost 10 years to the day since his professional debut. That fight took place at another iconic London fight venue, The O2 Arena, but the 18,000-seat arena in London’s Docklands area is dwarfed by the 62,000-seat home of Tottenham Hotspur FC.
Few fighters have had the chance to get acclimated to the white-hot atmosphere generated by the passionate British boxing fans inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but Benn has headlined the state-of-the-art stadium twice in front of capacity crowds, and said it’s an experience like no other. “Yeah, it's insane,” he admitted. “The pressure is real. You want to do the best you can, and it makes you work so hard to be the best version of yourself so that, come fight night, you know you've done everything you possibly can to claim victory.”
Benn knows what it takes to deliver exciting fights. As someone who has yet to challenge for a world title, Benn is still discovering his ceiling as a fighter, but while he hasn’t yet reached his fighting potential, Benn has fully discovered and embraced his personality as a fighter. “In the ring, I like to destroy and destruct, and cause pain,” he said. “Ultimately, I'm in there for that exact reason. I want to go in there and give people value for money and give them entertainment. That's what this game's about. And I've done it … this will be the 26th time, I believe, where I've gone in there and put it all on the line. I fight with my heart on my sleeve, and for me, that's good enough. It's just giving the public what they want. I'd rather lose an exciting fight than win a boring fight, because then it's like, did you even really win, though? For me, it's just about giving the public what they want to see.”
While much has been said and written about Benn’s career trajectory and the moves he’s made, he’s remained steadfast in his approach, and that’s to deliver value for money every time he steps through the ropes. Now he gets the opportunity to do so on the biggest platform of his career so far. “Listen, I just want to carry on doing what I'm doing. It's just on a bigger scale,” he stated.
“Netflix is a great audience, 300 million subscribers, you know? So for me, it's just a matter of giving them value for money and sheer entertainment. And ultimately, throughout my career, win, lose, or draw, people go, ‘Do you know what? I want to watch Conor Benn fight again.’
“The fight with Eubank, Fight of the Year, up at middleweight, jumping up two weights, I gave people Fight of the Year, and gave people value for money. That's what this game is about – it's about entertainment. So many fighters now are worried about losing their 0, or just staying undefeated, so they'd rather just win a fight. I'm in there for a fight.”
Which begs the question: Will Prograis be the man to give him that fight? “I believe so. I believe he will be a test, for as long as it lasts,” said Benn. “But I believe I get him out of there. I want an early night Saturday night.”
