News22 Nov, 2020 by Deke Smith | Quick read
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Conor Benn (17-0) puts in his best performance to date, dominating Sebastian Formella (22-2) over ten rounds at the SSE Arena. While he was disappointed not to get the stoppage, Benn took a unanimous decision on the cards with the judges scoring it 100-91, 99-91 and 99-92.
Formella, whose only loss in 22 fights came to former two-time world champion, Shawn Porter, was expected to be Benn's toughest test so far. Not only was he more experienced, but he is the naturally bigger man, carrying a 3-inch height advantage over Benn, and having fought as high as middleweight in the past.
The fight was Benn's first since October 2019, meaning that in addition to the step-up in competition, he'd potentially have some ring rust to contend with as well. With that said, Benn looked sharp from the opening bell, finding a home for some stiff jabs and hurtful body-shots.
By the third round, Formella was looking uncomfortable, with Benn's solid jabs beginning to do some damage to the nose and affect his breathing.
With Benn beating Formella to the punch in almost every exchange, the German showed great heart and a solid chin to keep pressing forwards. But going into the middle of the fight, it was hard to give Formella a single round.
Despite several moments when Benn looked close to forcing the stoppage, he instead opted to retain his composure - perhaps weary of punching himself out on a man who showed incredible punch resistance over the ten rounds.
When the final bell rang, Formella had the look of a man who was relieved it was all over. Benn, on the other hand, looked like he'd happily have gone a few more rounds.
The win sees Benn retain his unbeaten record along with his WBA Continental title, and sets up some big domestic clashes for next year. However, in his post-fight interview, Benn made it clear that the only opponent he's interested in is British welterweight rival, Josh Kelly. Kelly has his own fight against David Avanesyan ahead, but should he come through it, we can expect fans to be pushing for a Benn-Kelly match up in 2021.
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