Not long ago, Conor Benn could not find a fight or an opponent. However, look at him now! The English fighter has two callouts after he defeated Peter Dobson via unanimous decision. One from Gervonta Davis and the other from Devin Haney! Meanwhile, by the looks of things, he is going after ‘Tank’ Davis, which came after an X (formerly Twitter) banter!
Even Benn’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has confirmed that the fight is happening. The goal for Davis, aka Abdul Wahid, seems to be to make an easy tune-up fight after his long break from boxing. However, the bigger question is – will the fight be as easy as most people think? Here’s a deep dive into the analysis of both fighters to determine who the better pugilist is.
Gervonta Davis vs. Conor Benn: Title fights
After starting his career in February 2013, the current WBA lightweight champion had to wait 17 fights to get his first IBF title clash against Jose Pedraza. Going into the fight, Davis was the opposite of the crowd favorite, but Davis’ punching power prevailed as he took down the then-undefeated Pedraza in the seventh round. The Baltimore resident remains undefeated to this day and holds a pristine 29-0 record, seven of which came against undefeated boxers.
Meanwhile, Conor Benn is also undefeated with fewer fights but still an impressive 23-0 record! However, the Londoner hasn’t fought in a title fight yet, and neither has he ever held any of the four major belts. However, Benn has held the WBA Continental (Europe) welterweight title and has defended it twice. So, from the perspective of titles held, Davis gets a point!
Physical Analysis
‘Tank’ Davis is a southpaw and stands at 5′ 5½″ height with 67½″ reach. Whereas, ‘The Destroyer’ Benn is 5′ 8″ tall orthodox fighter with 68.0″ reach. So, both height and reach advantage go to Benn. However, Davis has often used his shorter height to duck under punches and get inside his opponent’s defense, something Ryan Garcia learned the hard way!
However, given Benn’s physical advantage and Davis’ move up the weight division, things are more complicated than it may appear. Benn is an aggressive fighter, so Davis may take a more defensive approach as he did against Garcia. On top of that, Davis is a really good strategic fighter well versed in handling opponents of varied styles. Whereas Benn tends to rely on his power too often, giving the edge to Gervonta Davis overall.
Competition faced
The competence of a fighter is frequently gauged by the level of competition they have encountered throughout their career and how they came out victorious. For Gervonta Davis, the list is extraordinarily long! Besides the previously mentioned Pedraza, the Baltimore native fought L.éo Santa Cruz, a solid opponent from Mexico, and rendered him useless in the sixth round of the fight via knockout.
Moreover, Davis’ hardest challenge came in the form of Isaac Cruz, who put on a fantastic performance against Davis. However, Davis managed to tame ‘The Pitbull’ via unanimous decision. On the other hand, Benn’s list of formidable opponents includes Sebastian Formella. The fight went the distance, and Benn won via unanimous decision. Benn also took on Chris Algieri, beating him via fourth-round knockout.
Considering all the opponents from both sides, Davis has not only faced the more difficult fighters but has also defeated them in a superior fashion. It’s especially evident in their knockout ratio – Davis’ 93.1 KO ratio towers over Benn’s 60.87 KO ratio.
Gervonta Davis & Conor Benn: Technical skills
The technical skills boxers display in the ring can give an early indication of who will emerge victorious in a fight. There’s no doubt that Benn is a powerful puncher and likes to take the fight to his opponent and overwhelm them with pressure. However, Davis has his way of dealing with aggressive fighters. Davis is a defensive counterpuncher who takes a lot of shots in the early rounds.
However, he does this to asses his opponents! Davis likes to throw less volume of punches, often hiding behind his jabs. But he reserves the one heavy shot for the right moment that can demolish his opponents. This fighting style also got him the moniker of ‘Tank.’ What’s more, Davis’ hardest opponent by far was Isaac Cruz, and Davis was able to handle Cruz because of his fighting style. So, even in technical skills, Davis gets the point.
