CONOR BENN, a feted, high profile prospect was in hell. At York Hall in December 2017, unheralded opponent Cedrick Peynaud had put Benn down heavily twice in the first round. He subjected Conor to fearful punishment. Although he, the son of Nigel Benn, managed to come back and drop the Frenchman twice himself. In that bout Benn got a 57-54 verdict from referee Robert Williams although the fight was far closer than that and could well have been a draw.
Benn however intends to rematch Peynaud to settle the issue.
โItโs part of the plan,โ Bennโs manager, Charlie Sims told Boxing News. โHeโs going to get a run out April 21 on the Amir Khan return [in Liverpool] and then weโre going to look at the rematch after that, the next fight. Weโve just got to discuss with Eddie Hearn [Bennโs promoter] what show itโs going to go on. Because we were looking at the May 5 show for the Haye-Bellew fight but itโs too close to April 21 so we need to find another show for him to go on but thatโs the plan. To get back and put things right, if you like.โ
It was an exciting fight to watch, one of the better contests of 2017, though unnerving for his manager. โI never thought it was going to go like that. The guy was tough. He wasnโt that bad. I think Conor is actually a lot better than him, he just didnโt perform that night, something was different that night. It was almost as if we went back to the beginning. But I know Conor in his mind knows that something wasnโt right that night and he wants to go back and he wants to put things right. I remember at the time I was just thinking, โS***. Heโs in trouble here.โ But I remember thinking I know heโs won this fight but purely on heart. Because you have to give it to the kid, someone who hasnโt had a lot of amateur pedigree, he put in a great performance when heโd never been there before. Heโd never been in those trenches,โ Sims said.
โHe was seriously hurt. It was really interesting to watch, even though I work closely with him and Iโve got an emotional attachment too because heโs my friend. It was hard to watch but Iโm just glad he got through it and he showed good heart.
โIโm really looking forward to the rematch because I want to know, I want to know how much heโs progressed since then. Iโm really looking forward to that.โ