Undefeated British welterweight prospect Conor Benn 16-0 (11) has opened up about his career to date ahead of his return to the ring at The O2 in London on the Josh Kelly-David Avanesyan bill on March 28.
The 23-year-old son of former super middleweight world champion Nigel Benn started his pugilistic journey in the amateurs in Sydney, Australia before relocating to the UK to train under former unified 140-pound champion Ricky Hatton.
“There was nothing much for me in Australia at the time, so I thought I might as well give boxing a go,” Benn told Sky Sports.
“Before I left Australia, I was a painter and decorator, not that there’s anything wrong with painting and decorating. It’s the only thing where I’ve had a delicate touch in my life. Everything else, it’s like I’ve got lead in my hands. If boxing doesn’t work out for me, I’ll probably start my own painting and decorating business.
“Ricky Hatton’s last fight was the first fight I ever went to, and I love Ricky’s style. He always brought it, so that’s why I chose Manchester.
“When you watch my fights and I’m skipping to the side, left hook to the body, Ricky got me doing that. He was there at my debut and, after I knocked the guy out in the first round with a shot he taught me, I looked at him and said, ‘Thank you, Ricky’.
“I left Ricky and moved to London to sign up with Matchroom, but I’ll always be grateful to Ricky for taking me in.
“Me and (trainer) Tony Sims have got a great relationship. I’ve had to go through a lot of discomforting things here, things that have made me not want to stay in England, just life, I guess.
“But my loyalty to my coach goes beyond that, because I can’t see Tony not being my trainer. He’s shaped and moulded me into the fighter I am today. He’s very old-school. He’s got that hardness, that toughness.
“When I first walked into the Matchroom gym, the boys were very welcoming, which was nice. We’re all working for the same thing and we’re all in it together. Doing the sprints early in the mornings when its freezing cold, that’s the worst thing. We’re all out there, but we’re not competing with each other. We’re all just trying to stay alive!
“I was pleased with my debut. It weren’t bad. I got him out of there. But, to be honest, I couldn’t quite believe it was happening and, when I look back at it now, it’s all a bit of a blur. One thing I say to fighters coming along now is absorb it. I didn’t really absorb it. I was just stood there thinking ‘What am I doing here?'”
Ahead of his third fight against Lukas Radic, who he blew out in one round, Benn took issue with his father’s former rival Chris Eubank Sr at the pre-fight press conference.
“If he wanted to pull me aside from the cameras and have a chat with me, I’d rate that. Thank you, your advice is gold. But don’t be doing it in front of the cameras to a 19-year-old boy,” he said.
“I don’t respect that at all. To the extent that you’re wanting to make yourself feel a certain way, don’t use me to try and do that and don’t think I’m going to sit here and tolerate it either, irrelevant of who you are.
“As fighters, we see boxing through a different lens to everybody else. People don’t realise how tough boxing is. When I broke my jaw eight months into my career, I’d been sparring with John Ryder and I think I got a hairline fracture from Ryder, because I had pains in my jaw for ages every time I sparred, but I’m hard and I didn’t tell anyone.
“Then Ohara Davies finished it off. He went crack straight on my jaw. I flinched, and I never flinch, and then I carried on. Then he hit me again, and I’ve had to say, ‘Stop, stop, stop’, because I couldn’t feel my teeth. Then I spat and I expected teeth to come out of my mouth, and there was just blood everywhere.
“Part of my jaw is still numb now. When I went back to sparring after my jaw had healed, Tony said to me, ‘I bet you’re going to be a little bit worried’. But I was like bang, wallop, come on! If it’s gonna go, it’s gonna go.”
Benn is proud of his father’s achievements in the ring and insists he will live up to his dad’s swashbuckling style.
“I fight like my dad, and that’s it. I don’t have to try. Name a dull, boring Conor Benn fight. There ain’t never been any. I’ll fight anyone who’s put in front of me, and I know somebody is going to have to knock me out or be a lot better than me to beat me,” Benn added.
 has opened up about his career to date ahead of his return to the ring at The O2 in London on the Josh Kelly-David Avanesyan bill on March 28.){kind=link}