Conor Benn puts Samuel Vargas away in one round then targets Amir Khan!
The son of a legend, Conor Benn respects what his Hall of Fame father Nigel Benn did in his career but strives to build his own path. With virtually no amateur experience, the fighter from Essex has managed to become ranked #11 by the WBA and #14 by the IBF at welterweight. As he inches up the rankings, his competition gets a little more stiffer with each bout. Unranked but a Colombian known to give some of the bigger named fighters some problems in Samuel Vargas became his next test.
While his resume consists of some of the biggest names within the welterweight division, Vargas’ success has been limited against these fighters. However, that goes without saying he didn’t give any of them problems. In September 2018, he was extremely close to stopping former unified junior welterweight champion Amir Khan multiple times before dropping a unanimous decision. Therefore, the danger is there for a fighter who is still not ripe.
Benn has gotten a lot of recognition for his beef with fellow welterweight contender Josh Kelly. He voiced several times that he would like to be the man to hand the “hype-job” his first pro loss. However, top contender David Avanesyan would beat him to it as he gained a sixth round stoppage victory over Kelly in February. Had Kelly won that fight, a domestic level matchup with Benn would have been on the horizon.
Now Benn seems to be focused more on getting in position to fight for a world title and hopes a Vargas win will get him closer to that.
HE WASN’T PALYING!
Prior to the fight, Vargas made the statement that he will be no easy match and he would give Benn “a right hand from hell!” Well that is not quite what happened. It would be a right hand from Benn in the first round that would put the 31 year-old Colombian staggering up against the ropes. Much like his father, Benn is his best when he has his opponent’s hurt. When he saw this, he immediately jumped on Vargas with blistering combinations.
Another right hand mid combination sent Vargas’ upper body somewhat through the ropes. The referee jumped in at this point and waived off the fight. In a fight that was supposed to be more of a step-up bout than his last knockout victory over Sebastian Formella, Benn dominated in just one round!
TIME TO TEST THE MAN
In the post fight interview, Benn gave a soliloquy involving the disrespect he feels he receives. This stems from fans and the media claiming certain fighters like Vargas and Formella are going to be serious tests for him. Then after he defeats them, he feels they will say another lower-tier contender will be a tough match-up. Benn made it clear he is ready for the top contenders and called out one person in particular.
“Give me a proper test. Give me Amir Khan!”
Well, who are we to say Benn should not want to be tested. Give that man the fight!
By: EJ Williams
