By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten welterweight prospect Conor Benn of England will be taking on former WBO Super Lightweight Champion Chris Algieri of Huntington, New York at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England this Saturday, December 11th. The 12-round battle can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Benn last fought in September when he beat Adrian Granados by 10-round unanimous decision. Algieri was last in the ring in August when he beat Mikkel LesPierre by 10-round unanimous decision.
The 25-year-old Benn is the son of former British great and world champion Nigel Benn. He fought as an amateur in Australia with 20 wins in 22 contests before turning pro in 2016. Since then he’s boxed 78 rounds and has compiled a perfect record of 19-0 with 12 Kos. He has pretty good power in his hands with a current knockout ratio of 63.2 per cent but has gone the distance in two of his last three fights.
Benn stands 5-feet-8-inches tall and has an unlisted reach. He’s got a decent chin but has been on the deck as a pro when Cedrick Peynaud dropped him twice in the first round in 2017. However, Benn picked himself up and returned the favour in the fifth and sixth rounds to earn a six-round decision. The two met again a year later with Benn taking a 10 round unanimous decision to capture the vacant WBA Continental Welterweight Title.
He’s defended it four times as he stopped Jussi Koivula and Steve Jamoye, beat Sebastian Formella by decision and then stopped Samuel Vargas in just 80 seconds this April. Benn has been brought along rather slowly and hasn’t faced a current legitimate contender or anybody close to one as yet. However, at least he’s taking steps up in class with Vargas, Granados and now Algieri.
The 37-year-old Algieri won the WBO Super Lightweight Title back in June, 2014 when he beat Ruslan Provodnikov by split decision but lost it five months later when Manny Pacquiao dropped him six times on the way to a unanimous decision. He’s been inactive recently as he sat out 2.5 years between April, 2016 and November, 2018 and hadn’t fought in 26 months until meeting LesPierre four months ago.
Algieri enters the contest with a mark of 25-3 with 9 Kos and has boxed 199 rounds since turning pro in 2008. He has plenty of experience against elite boxers as he lost a controversial unanimous decision to England’s Amir Khan in May, 2015 and was also stopped in the fifth-round at the hands of Errol Spence Jr in April, 2016.
Algieri lost three of four fights between November, 2014 and April, 2016 but has won his last four encounters against Angel Hernandez, Daniel Gonzalez, Tommy Coyle and LesPierre. He’s also recorded wins over Mike Arnaoutis, Erick Bone, Curtis Smith and Emanuel Taylor. Algieri is a former kickboxer who has pretty good boxing skills. However, his chin is somewhat on the questionable side.
In addition, he doesn’t have much in the way of power with a current knockout ratio of just 32.1 per cent, but still has enough snap in his punches to drop an opponent. What Algieri does possess a lot of is skill, heart and determination as he always bounces back to his feet from a knockdown. He stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a wingspan of 72 inches to give him a two-inch height advantage over Benn.
Prediction…
Algieri has taken on some tough foes during his career and has always been competitive. He’s 37 years old now though and had a long layoff recently. He’s a bit past his prime but should still be a test for Benn as long as his chin holds up. As for Benn, he’s not quite as exciting as his father Nigel was but has been getting the job done. He possesses enough speed and power to take care of Algieri at this stage of their careers and I’m expecting him to remain unbeaten on Saturday after a hard night’s work.
