"I feel like Peynaud's hindering my career. People forget about the knockouts I had last year."
Wednesday 18 November 2020 13:52, UK
Just 21 years old and fixed in the pressuring limelight of British boxing, Conor Benn draws inspiration from 'warrior' Arturo Gatti as the next chapter of 'The Destroyer's' fledgling career hastily gets underway.
Benn is still familiarising himself with the trials and tribulations of the famed sweet science, the ups and downs that come with the fight game, and the growing expectations that continue to fall heavy on the son of boxing legend Nigel's young shoulders.
A latecomer into the sport, Benn's recent half dozen performances have, on the whole, been both dazzling and destructive, highlight-reel knockouts aplenty, but it is a York Hall six-rounder with Frenchman Peynaud, where the Essex protégé hit the canvas twice, which now sits firmly in the memory.
Perhaps another lesson for the destructive welterweight, a realisation of how quickly perceptions can change, but Benn showed inherent strength and heart to take a points win and that is where he draws comparisons to Italian-born Canadian great Gatti and it is an all-action style that 'The Destroyer' hopes to continue to emulate.
"I'm in this game to entertain and it's time to remind the fans what I am all about," Benn said, in an exclusive interview ahead of his fight at The O2 on July 28, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
"My first fight with Peynaud was a madness and it brought it out of me. You've got to remember I was hurt from the get-go, I had never experienced that and my whole body just felt heavy.
I'm ready to have it, and I thought I would shave the haircut off. No pretty boy this camp, no fade, none of that, a straight skinhead.
"I still managed to knock him down in rounds five and six, and that's proper strength, another 10 seconds and I would have stopped him. Anyone can knock a man out from round one to three, because they're fresh. You get caught flush, like I did, and you're bound to go down, without question.
"My head just wasn't there. I was looking at him thinking 'I've booked my trip to Miami and I'll just knock him out, he's got a worse record than all the rest.' My body was tired. That wasn't an explosive Conor Benn."
It was a performance that the mercurial talent has previously said 'felt like a loss' but it wasn't back to the drawing board for Benn in the weeks following. Instead, the 21-year-old chose to become a student of the game, furthering his knowledge as he continues to learn on the job.
"I've been studying a lot of Arturo Gatti for this fight and I want to emulate his style," he continued.
'Thunder' Gatti, in fact, lost his seventh fight in the pro game, a split-decision six-round defeat to King Solomon (5-1-3 at the time). Perhaps, the first glaring similarity that Benn can draw upon.
"He was just a warrior. People say he got hit loads, but how entertaining was he? He's remembered for those fights, where they thought he was written off and then he came back and absolutely dominated, and that's heart. He fought purely on heart.
"His heart was his biggest attribute. I like to go by that. Fighters out there today are skilful and all that, but when it comes down to it, push comes to shove, they haven't got it."
Righting the wrongs of that night six months ago is Benn's sole focus and making the same mistakes again is simply not an option.
Now, the mentality is different and a fearsome performance, echoes of his famed father, is being predicted by the young gun.
"I've had some scraps in my career. I've had absolute blinding knockouts, but people always say which Conor Benn is going to turn up?
"My mind-set is different, I know which Benn will turn up and it's going to be a lot more stylish this time. I feel like Peynaud is hindering my career, people forget about the knockouts I had last year.
"They offered me the return fight and I said 'yeah, come on then,' I went to the barbers straight away and said 'listen, I can't have a fade now.'
"I'm feeling rough this camp, I'm ready to have it, and I thought I would shave the haircut off. No pretty boy this camp, no fade, none of that, a straight skinhead."
The stage is again set for Benn to once again light up a London fight ring and whether he can indeed emulate two-weight world champion Gatti remains to be seen.
What can be said with confidence is that this destructive journey is still only just getting started.
