Conor Benn defended his WBA Continental welterweight title in empathic fashion Friday, defeating Jussi Koivula via second-round TKO at London's York Hall.
"The Destroyer" (15-0, 10 KOs) rallied after taking a lot of punishment in the opening round of his debut as a headliner. Koivula (24-7-1, nine KOs) caught him with a right hand early and looked determined to get the job done inside the first three minutes. The "Ice Man" continued to take the fight to the 22-year-old champ and eventually sent him stumbling back to the ropes with a left hand.
Koivula easily won Round 1 and silenced the crowd, which began to grow nervous. Benn looked to match Koivula’s work rate in the second; finally, with 1:15 gone, he landed a short left hook that sent the Finnish fighter to the canvas. It wasn’t long before Koivula was down again after a flurry of punches. The referee stopped the fight with 53 seconds remaining in the round after Benn backed Koivula up against the ropes and landed a big right hook followed by a left hook.
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"He came out firing, tried to throw me out (of) my game plan," Benn said after the fight. "He thought I was a little boy. I knew he was going to come out like a 35-year-old man, and he thought he could bully me around, but I wasn’t having any of it."
"I wanted to get the balance right, the old Conor Benn and the new and improved Conor Benn," he added. "I think I showed a little bit of both today.”
Said promoter Eddie Hearn: "Three of four fights ago I don’t think [Benn] would have of reacted like that."
"Now we move into the danger zone, the likes of [Samuel] Vargas and Josh Kelly," Hearn added. "That could end up being a huge domestic fight, Josh Kelly against Conor Benn."
Co-main event: Ted Cheeseman retains British super welterweight title after split draw with Kieron Conway
Cheeseman (15-1-1, nine KOs) defended his Lord Lonsdale belt one fight after suffering a unanimous decision defeat to Sergio Garcia for the EBU European super welterweight title. The judges scored the bout 115-114 for Cheeseman, 116-113 for Conway and 114-114.
"The Big Cheese" showed power and persistence against a game opponent.
He started on the front foot and landed the better shots in the early rounds, working the body well before going upstairs. As the fight entered the middle rounds, however, Conway (12-1-1, three KOs) grew in confidence and started to land with hook after hook to the body. With blood coming from Cheeseman's nose in the fifth, Conway continued to land the jab before setting up combos to the head and body. Cheeseman, with his head down and his hands up, walked into the shots before landing a few combos of his own when he backed up Conway against the ropes.
With both men fighting on the inside and happy to trade blows, the bout turned into a test of who wanted it more. Cheeseman's experience appeared to pay dividends in the final two rounds as he delivered well-placed body shots that slowed Conway. Cheeseman looked deflated by the decision.
"Kieron Conway put up a great fight, he’s a tough boy, he has a great work rate, but I do believe I clearly won by four rounds," he said after the fight. "But it is what it is. I'm gutted. I'm still champ but I deserved the win."
Conway can take a lot of positives from this draw. Expect him to challenge again for the British title.
Also on the card:
- Otha Jones III def. Michael Horabin via a first-round TKO (referee stopped fight); lightweights.
- Craig Richards def. Andre Sterling via unanimous decision (117-111, 116-111, 115-112); British light heavyweight title final eliminator.
- Shannon Courtenay def. Valerija Sepetovska via second-round TKO (referee stopped fight; bantamweights.
- Charles Frankham def. Ilgvars Krauklis via first-round knockout; super featherweights.
- Recce Bellotti def. Josue Bendana via fourth-round knockout; featherweights.
- Anthony Fox def. Duane Sinclair. 79-73 on points; light heavyweights