WBA #15 welterweight “The Destroyer” Conor Benn (17-0, 11 KOs) dominated game Sebastian Formella (22-2, 10 KOs) over ten rounds to retain the WBA Continental title on Saturday night at the SSE Arena in London. From the opening bell, Benn pretty much punished Formella, who lost a one-sided twelve round decision against two-time world champion Shawn Porter earlier this year. Scores were 100-91, 99-91, 99-92.
Unbeaten heavyweight Fabio Wardley (10-0, 9 KOs) knocked out Richard Lartey (14-4, 11 KOs) in round two. A crushing right hand laid out Lartey. Time of the KO was 1:22.
Unbeaten heavyweight Alen “The Savage” Babic (6-0, 6 KOs) scored a third round KO over Tom Little (10-9, 3 KOs). The aggressive Babic floored Little in round three then put him down and out. Time was 2:38. Babic has beaten all six of his opponents inside three rounds.
Moving up from welterweight to middleweight, Jez Smith (12-2-1, 5 KOs) shut out previously unbeaten Ben Ridings (3-1, 0 KOs) over six rounds. Score was 60-54.
In a bout for the vacant English bantamweight title, Liam Davies (8-0, 3 KOs) was victorious when Sean Cairns (7-3, 1 KO) didn’t come out for round seven.
Poor Tom Little – 5th straight KO/TKO loss in a row. Ridicules.
Should be a rule or regulation to stop a boxer to get his brain like pasta sauce, by being kayoed or heavily punished any time he steps in the ring to earn some bucks.Roberto Valenzuela for instance, he is 47 and remains active and doesn’t have a win since 2013, having being stopped 10 times in 14 losses. Really sad and insane
My problem with Benn is he doesn’t have the punch power to fit his style. By default he is fighting with same style as his dad. Normally top guys would be able to outclass a guy with that style but would have to fight him really carefully because of the power. I don’t think top guys would even feel they have to be super careful with Benn
Formella has no power to speak of. He throws arm punches and touches his opponents, but loses his technique when he tries to throw hard shots. That style may work in the amateurs but is not suited for the pros. He actually looks awkward and off balance when he tries to throw hard shots.
Benn, on the other hand, was throwing punches with conviction and leverage. He was the much harder hitter and had his way most of the night. He fought with discipline behind a tight guard and was able to reach Formella easily. He occasionally threw wild haymakers but kept those to a minimum. He was actually outjabbing the boxer Formella, was beating him to the punch, and had him on the retreat most of the night. He also mixed in hard body shots and uppercuts with his other punches to the head. This version of Benn has a real future in the welterweight division. That was the most impressive I have ever seen him.
As for Formella, he should consider retiring. Pro boxing is a hard business and he lacks the tools to advance beyond where he is now. Yes, he’s mobile, is a decent boxer and takes a great punch. However, he has no future unless he learns how to set himself to punch with sting in his punches. At this point, he’s just a punching bag for the top level fighters. I fear for his future health if he keeps taking beatings like he took tonight.
The MTK/ DAZN fight commentators are tough to listen to. They are always gushing over the house fighters, and it seems like they aren’t even watching the damn fight sometimes. Sound like clowns
Cant see Benn beating any of the champs let alone top contenders in the division anytime soon.