Conor Benn will face South Africa’s Chris Van Heerden at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday 16 April, live worldwide on DAZN.
‘Terminator’ (20-0, 13 KOs) took a knockout win over former world champion Chris Algieri last time out in December, knocking out the American with a brutal right arm in the fourth round of their premier clash at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.
The 25-year-old from Essex holds the top ten with the WBA, WBO and IBF after scoring three wins in the 2021 breakout – and believes 2022 will be an even bigger year for him as he headed towards a world champion title.
The card below shows Bournemouth European cruiser champion Chris Billam-Smith (14-1, 10 KOs) rematching former Belfast champion Tommy McCarthy (18-3, 9 KOs) after the match. their epic back-and-forth at Matchroom HQ last summer.
‘The Gentleman’ withstood belated resistance from McCarthy when he made the narrow split decision to add British and European cruiser titles to his Commonwealth belt, before securing defended his EBU crown with a point win over Dylan Bregeon in Sheffield.
Manchester featherweight superweight contender Zelfa Barrett (27-1, 16 KOs) looks set to build on his impressive win as he knocked out the IBF world title against Australia’s Bruno Tarimo in the undermatch. Parker vs. Chisora 2 when he challenged European champion Faroukh Kourbanov (19-3, 3 KOs) – a former opponent of Joe Cordina.
Heavyweight talent Jordan Thompson (12-0, 10 KOs) has scored two major knockouts in the first round since putting pen to paper in an endorsement deal with Eddie Hearn last June, and the 28-year-old The old man from Manchester will take the field to impress his hometown fans once again as he looks towards his first title in 2022.
Hyde Campbell Hatton’s lightweight prospect (6-0, 2 KOs) is quickly back into action after beating Joe Ducker last month, Little Lever’s Jack Cullen (20-3-1, 9 KOs) on aim. Coming back from injury-time defeats to Kevin Lele Sadjo in December and welterweight Alnwick, Cyrus Pattinson (3-0, 1 KO) is hoping to pick up two wins from two games in 2022.
Benn said: “I’m so excited to get into the ring with Chris Van Heerden. “Van Heerden is a tough operator and a southbound who will always give his best in every round. For me and my team, now is fighting every style we can face as we continue towards the world championship and Van Heerden offers something different from the others. something I have never faced before.
“It’s safe to say this is another stepping stone for me on my journey to the top, I haven’t seen anything in Van Heerden’s previous games that I haven’t been able to deal with, and I’m looking forward to a win. another outbreak on April 16. If he. come to fight or he wants to box, how can i deliver that smoke! AO Arena has to be one of the most fun places to fight. I love Manchester. I get so much love and support in Manchester – it’s a fighting city. I bring entertainment every time I fight and I can’t wait for April 16th.”
“Sometimes it takes 10 years for a year to go by and completely change your life,” says Van Heerden. “This is my year. I want to thank Conor Benn for being in the game, knowing I was going to beat him in his backyard. I would also like to thank Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing for taking this risk and my manager Peter Kahn for completing this match. I’m looking forward to performing in Manchester on DAZN. ”
