Chris van Heerden has dismissed Conor Benn’s boxing ability ahead of their 12-round Welterweight clash for the WBA Continental Title this Saturday April 16 at the AO Arena in Manchester, shown live worldwide on DAZN (excluding New Zealand and Australia), labelling the 25-year-old an “emotional, angry fighter”.
The former IBO Welterweight Champion (28-2-1,12 KOs) from Johannesburg in South Africa fights in the UK for the first time in his 32-fight career this weekend against Benn, having only tasted defeat twice, with one of those losses coming at the hands of current WBC and IBF welterweight world champion, Errol Spence Jr.
Benn (20-0, 13 KOs) enjoyed a breakout 2021, notching big wins over Samuel Vargas, Adrian Granados and former World Champion Chris Algieri – but ‘The Heat’ believes he has what it takes to put a dent in the 25-year-old’s promising career by inflicting a first defeat on him.
âIâm a much better boxer than Conor Benn,” said van Heerden.
“In my opinion Conor is an emotional, angry fighter. He relies on his power. He cannot box with me. Heâs not a boxer.
âHeâs a power puncher and I donât rate him as a boxer. Thatâs why Iâm saying heâs a very emotional, angry type of fighter in my opinion.
âThrough the history of boxing we know that fighters hate fighting southpaw fighters. Orthodox fighters always have some sort of trouble fighting southpaw fighters. Itâs not the easiest. Thatâs definitely going to play a factor in my opinion.Â
âThey see it as a steppingstone fight for Conor, but I see it as a coming out fight for me. This is where I shine and people say, âwow where has this kid been?â I just never got a fair shot.
“Benn has not walked the road Iâve walked. I didnât have a last name to carry me in my career. I had to do it the hard way. Unfortunately, it comes with a price. His dad is a very famous fighter and I feel like the Benn last name put him in the positions that he didnât need to work that hard for.”
Now residing in Santa Monica, California, USA the 34-year-old southpaw, whose last fight with Jaron Ennis in December 2020 was declared a no contest following an accidental head clash, is eager to test himself against one of the fastest rising welterweights in world boxing and says the memory of his late father Daniel, who was tragically murdered in 2018, is pushing him on.
âThis is why I started boxing, because of opportunities like this.Â
âIâve always wanted to fight in the UK and now Iâve got that opportunity. Iâve never fought in front of a crowd this big.Â
âThis is going to motivate me. I remember waking up as a boy and watching boxing with my dad in South Africa.
“20,000 people in an arena, all eyes on you for the main event. Thatâs why I fell in love with boxing, and now Iâm finally getting my shot.
âI lived for this moment. I visualised. This moment is why I wake up every morning. This is what my dad taught me before I even saw this for myself.
âMy pops believed in me so much. My dad was murdered in South Africa, itâs been just over three years.
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âIâm in the gym all of the time. Why? Because thatâs where I feel my dadâs presence the most. I miss my dad so much, but when Iâm in the gym I feel him.
“I left South Africa because of a dream and a vision of one day fighting in a fight of this magnitude. The one man that believed in me was my dad.
âEight years ago, I went to my dad and I said, âdad, I want to do this. Do you think I have what it takes to do this?â.
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âMy dad was the one man that believed in me when there were so many people that said no.
“My dad told me that Iâd do it. My dad was my hero. He was my father and my inspiration. This is what this fight means to me. Thatâs why me and Conor Benn will forever be tied together because heâs helping me make peace with this.”
