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Welterweight contender Conor ‘The Destroyer’ Benn 20-0 (13) is unfazed by facing his first southpaw when he takes on Chris ‘The Heat’ van Heerden 28-2-1 (12) at the AO Arena in Manchester, England this Saturday night.
The 25-year-old from Essex – who is ranked in the top 10 by the WBC, WBA and IBF – believes now is the time to step up his level of opposition as he closes in on a world title shot.
“Every fighter I fight now moving forward is going to be more experienced, but it means nothing to me,” said Benn.
“Who they’ve fought and what they’ve done in their career doesn’t matter because they haven’t fought me. I know what I can do and I know what I’m capable of.
“I believe in my work ethic and I believe in my team. I believe in my mindset and I believe in my physical attributes. I believe in my power and I believe in my boxing ability. Bring me whoever, I’m confident in what I can do.
“Van Heerden is a good fighter, he’s a tricky fighter, he’s a tough fighter. He’s a come forward southpaw and a former [IBO] world champion. He’s been in there with the best. First southpaw opponent – they’re definitely hard work that’s for sure. You have to think a lot more. You have to demonstrate a lot more skill. You can’t just go in there with the same approach as you would with an orthodox fighter.
“He’s wanted this fight for a while. He told me he needed this fight for himself, needed it for closure. We’ve made the fight happen. Hopefully he comes prepared, which I believe he will.
“He said he doesn’t rate my boxing ability. If you don’t respect me then I’ll make you respect me. Chris van Heerden needs to be ready for a whole lot of firepower. He needs to be ready for someone who fights like he’s got everything to lose.”
Benn is coming off a career-best performance against former WBO welterweight champion Chris Algieri, who he knocked out in four rounds with a big right hand in December.
“It was the most dramatic finish of my career for sure. It was great that I was able to put in that performance,” Benn said.
“I just went in there with such confidence. Being confident in the ring… you display it in your defence mechanisms, trust in your reflexes, trust in your power.
“Having my dad ringside and seeing the raw emotion from him was probably the most rewarding thing out of the whole eight-week camp. Even during the fight and the feeling after the fight.
“Watching that video back was, me watching someone so genuinely happy for me. Nothing but happiness for his son. That for me is so warming. It made me so emotional watching it.”
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