STAR PREVIEW Sat: Conor Benn vs Chris van Heerden

British welterweight contender Conor ‘The Destroyer’ Benn returns this weekend as he takes on Chris van Heerden in Manchester. Benn is quickly becoming one of the most exciting prospects in the 147lb division and promoter Eddie Hearn has hinted that this is the ‘last hurdle’ before Benn is unleashed onto the world scene.

Since turning professional in 2016, ‘The Destroyer’ has built up a record of 20-0 (13KO) but it is only in the last eighteen months that he has made real eye-catching progress with wins over former world title challengers Sebastian Formella, Samuel Vargas, Adrian Granados, and Chris Algieri.

Admittedly, none of the fighters mentioned above were at the peak of their powers but they were strategically used by promoter Eddie Hearn to aid the development of his leading prospect and they and have been integral to the apprenticeship of Benn, who now finds himself being lauded as one of the most exciting 147lb prospects in the world.

Chris van Heerden is another calculated risk taken by Eddie Hearn and Team Benn but the 34-year-old is in the autumn of his career and despite having some world class names on his CV, he hasn’t performed at world level in a long time.

The South African has suffered personal tragedy in recent years so will enter this fight with huge motivation but he turns 35 in June and has fought just one round (a non-contest with Jaron Ennis) since 2019 and that is less than ideal preparation coming into this fight against a young, hungry fighter like Benn.

That latest fight with Jaron Ennis has a lot of similarities to this weekend. Ennis is considered a future welterweight champion and he was matched with van Heerden to enhance his reputation. Ennis was landing some heavy shots in the opening round of that contest before an unintentional head clash caused a huge cut for van Heerden. If that clash of heads had not happened, Ennis was on the edge of securing a knockout victory and the fight this weekend may play out in a very similar fashion.

This is very clever matchmaking by Team Benn and it’s hard to make a case for van Heerden on Saturday night. However, the South African is a southpaw and that is one small advantage that could pose problems for The Destroyer in the early rounds.

Things are heavily stacked in the favour of Conor Benn this weekend and the undefeated 25-year-old should secure another knockout victory to enhance his growing reputation. Benn is (4/9) to end this one inside the distance which is short enough but if he can navigate the tricky southpaw stance of his opponent, he could secure himself an early knocking. Benn is (3/1) to win in rounds 1-3 in this one and that is a bet worth some consideration.

The chief support on the undercard is a highly anticipated rematch between cruiserweights Chris Billam-Smith and Irishman Tommy McCarthy. The first fight between these two took place in July 2021 and was more competitive than most expected. Billam-Smith entered the first fight as a big favourite but he underperformed and was outworked by McCarthy for large parts of the contest.

Billam-Smith was eventually awarded the contest by split decision but it was contentious and that made this rematch an inevitability. The feeling is different heading into this weekend as more people are giving Tommy McCarthy a chance of victory and that’s what makes this the most interesting matchup on the entire card.

McCarthy has always been an accomplished boxer and his extensive amateur career has served him well in the professional ranks but he has suffered with inconsistency in the past and many of his best performances have been followed up by below par efforts. Something that he will need to eradicate heading into this rematch.

The talk from the Billam-Smith camp has been that he is a vastly improved fighter heading into this contest and the Bournemouth born puncher does have something to prove this weekend. He has always been highly regarded and his trainer Shane McGuigan has touted him as a potential world class fighter but he under performed in the first fight and didn’t look at his explosive best in his last fight against Dylan Bregeon, either.

Billam-Smith is the (2/5) with McCarthy priced at an attractive (9/4). Many in the industry thought McCarthy was unlucky in the first fight and will be happy with the underdog odds for the Irishman. It is difficult to see Billam-Smith underperforming again and if he does arrive here at 100%, he could really make a statement which is the reason he heads into this as a strong favourite.

The first fight went to a decision but it was a war of attrition and both men were badly hurt at times in the fight. They will both be looking to make a statement this weekend and will want a knockout victory to conclusively close this chapter in their respective careers. With that in mind, the price of (5/4) for the fight not to go the distance is the best bet of the weekend.

JORDAN NEILD

---

RECOMMENDED BETS
BACK Conor Benn to win in rounds 1-3 1pt @ 3/1 (Latest Star Price ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
BACK Billiam Smith vs McCarthy NOT to go the distance 3pts @ 5/4 (Latest Star Price ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

---

PROFIT/LOSS (APRIL 2022): LOSS -6.57 points
(Excluding ante-post recommendations CLICK HERE)

---

STAR PROMOTIONS