Conor Benn v Samuel Vargas preview

Conor 'The Destroyer' Benn is looking to make it 18 wins out of 18 on Saturday night when he comes up against experienced Colombian Samuel Vargas at Wembley Arena live on Sky Sports.

This Welterweight clash tops the bill in the capital , Shannon Courtenay faces Ebanie Bridges in a world title fight , Savvanah Marshall defends her WBO World middleweight title against Maria Lindberg , Ukashir Farooq takes on Alexander Espinoza in a 10 rounder and also on the card the professional debut of Nick Campbell and John Hedges also in action.

Conor Benn now 24 years old has a growing wealth of experience under his belt accumulating 67 rounds of boxing in his 17 wins to date. Most recently a dominating 10 round victory over Sebastian Formella in November last year , previously Formella went the full 12 rounds with former World champion Shawn Porter,

Samuel Vargas is no pushover for Benn , the experienced 31 year old has 39 fights under his belt and has come up against the worlds best at welterweight , Errol Spence Jr in 2015 , Danny Garcia the following year , a fierce battle with Amir Khan and most recently shared the ring with Rising star Virgil Ortiz Jr losing by KO in the seventh round. 

On Saturday night Conor Benn can make a big statement in the Welterweight division if he can score a victory over Vargas and set up a fight with either Kell Brook or Amir Khan.

Prediction - Conor Benn KO

Records 

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    Conor Benn 

Age - 24

Height - 5'8"

Hometown - Illford

Record - 17-0 (11 KO's)

Samuel Vargas 

Age - 31

Height - 5'9"

Hometown - Bogota

Record - 31-6-2 (14 KO's)

Undercard

Savannah Marshall vs Maria Lindberg (WBO World Middleweight Title)

Shannon Courtenay vs Ebanie Bridges (WBA World Bantamweight Title)

Ukashir Farooq vs Alexander Espinoza (WBC International Silver Bantamweight Title)

Nick Campbell vs Peter Frohlich

John Hedges vs Stanko Jermelic

 

Start Time & Stream Details

The action gets underway at 7pm on Sky Sports in the UK and 2pm ET on Dazn in the

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 Exclusive interview with Kane Baker ahead of fight on Povetkin v Whyte undercard

Kane Baker is looking to upset the odds on Saturday night when he takes on Youssef Khoumari (11-0-1) on the 'Rumble On The Rock' undercard.

Baker (14-7) , experienced fighter from Birmingham is looking to build on his victory over Meshech Speare in October with a win against a top British Prospect.

With 21 fights now under his belt since turning professional in 2016 , Kane has the experience to cause trouble against many fighters , he has shared the ring previously with the likes of Conor Benn , Sam Maxwell and Jamie Speight.

I asked Kane Baker a few questions ahead of his fight this Saturday

Question ; First of all how is the preparation going for this weekend and how are you feeling ahead of your fight with Khoumari?

Answer ;  'I'm feeling great , all the hard work is done now. Time to enjoy and soak it all up'

Question ; How different is it on fight week coming in to the bubble compared to a normal fight week prior to Covid-19?

Answer ; 'I've kind of forgot what it was like prior to Covid-19 , I'm very comfortable in the bubble and how it works , this is my 4th time. I do miss the fans but not the last minute dropping of tickets.'

Question ; What are you expecting from your opponent Youssef Khoumari on fight night and how do you see the fight going?

Answer ; 'I'm expecting a good solid fighter and I'm looking forward to it & I see myself coming out victorious and will do whatever it takes to win on the night.'

Question ; Is fighting on a card like this with potentially millions of viewers any different to you or do you treat it the same as any other fight ?

Answer ; 'The whole occasion is massive , but I have learnt to soak it up now I'm experienced and just enjoy it , once the fight starts it will be no different to normal.'

Question ; Finally , is there a fight on the card you are really looking forward to and if so what is it and what is your prediction?

Answer ; 'I cant wait to see Campbell Hatton's debut and also Povetkin v Whyte should be a barnstormer.'

You can watch Kane Baker v Youssef Khoumari on Sky Sports Box Office Saturday 27th April

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 Dillian Whyte v Alexander Povetkin 2

The long awaited rematch between 'The Body Snatcher' Dillian Whyte (27-2) and Alexander Povetkin (36-2) is finally set to go ahead in the ' Rumble On The Rock' in Gibralter on March 27th after being postponed from earlier in the month due Covid- 19 restrictions.

The two first met in Matchrooms Fight Camp in August , where Povetkin pulled off a shock win , with a brutal uppercut to put Whyte out in round 5 despite being floored twice by Whyte already in the fight.

Whyte his looking to avenge this defeat , only his second in his career , to set up a World title shot , something he has been waiting years for despite being mandatory for over 1000 days for the WBC World Title.

Povetkin who turned 41 last year, will certainly be heading into one of his final bouts as a professional , potentially his last if he fails to win. His career has spanned over 16 years since becoming a professional and has been in the ring with the likes of Wladimir Klitschko , Carlos Takam ,Athony Joshua , Hughie Fury and Dillian Whyte to name a few and has only recorded 2 loses in that time.

Dillian Whyte has become a seasoned pro over the last fw years , having 11 years experience in the ring to this point and become one of the most feared men in the heavyweight division. With only 2 loses on his record to Unified World Champion Anthony Joshua and the defeat to Povetkin last time out , he will be looking to get back into World title contention with a win over the Russian.

Ted Cheeseman v JJ Metcalf

In an exciting domestic fight Ted Cheeseman takes on JJ Metcalf for the British title.

Fabio Wardley v Eric Molina

Heavyweight propect Fabio Wardley takes on experienced American Fabio Wardley.

Campbell Hatton Debut

 Lawrence Okolie v Krzysztof Glowacki Full Card Preview 

Lawrence Okolie takes on Krzysztof Glowacki to attempt to win a World title in just his 16th professional fight.

Rio 2016 olympian Okolie (15-0) is attempting to win the WBO Cruiserweight title against Pole Glowacki (31-2) a fight that had orginally been planned for December 2020 on the Joshua v Pulev undercard but the fight fell through due to Covid-19.

Glowacki , an experiemced Cruiserweight with only 2 loses , one to Oleksander Usyk and most recently to Mairis Bredis in 2019.

The main talking point leadig up to the fight is can Okolie step up to world leve? 

Okolie has racked up 15 victories to date , 12 of them coming by knock out. Lawrence has defeated several domesic rivals with wins over Isaac Chamberlain , Wadi Camacho , Luke Watkins and Matty Askin.

Most Recently Okolie fought late replacement Jezewski and demolished him inside 2 rounds.

Anthony Fowler v Jorge Fortea 

Anthony Fowler returns for the first time since fight camp and is looking to set up a rematch with Sott Fitzgerald or take on the winner of Ted Cheeseman v JJ Metcalf

2016 Rio Olympian Anthony 'The Machine' Fowler is back in action on March 20th looking to make it 5 wins on the bounce when he faces Spaniard Jorge Fortea (21-2-1) .

Read our full interview with Fowler here 

https://cpboxing6.blogspot.com/2021/03/fowler-wants-fitzgerald-rematch-in.html

Question ; What are you expecting from your opponent Jorge Fortea come fight night?

Answer ; I'm expecting a very hard fight , I've watched him and he knows his way round the ring. He's hard to pin down and land clean shots , he's tough and has a very relaxed , calm style.

Chris Billam-Smith v Vasil Ducar 

Chris Billam-Smith (11-1) takes on Vasil Ducar (9-3-1) for the vacant WBA Continental Cruiserweight title.

Also on the card 

Joe Cordina v Faroukh Kourbanov 

Bradley Rea v Lee Cutler 

Ramla Ali

Ellie Scotney v Mailys Gangloff

 Juan Francisco Estrada beats Roman Gonzalez

Juan Francisco Estrada beats Roman Gonzalez in an all time classic by split decision but controversy on the scorecards

All I can say is wow. That was the best fight I've seen in the 9 or so years I've been watching by a long way. An absolute classic , two pound for pound greats , going at it for 12 rounds with them throwing over 2000 punches between them. If there was an advert for Boxing this would be it.

The fight was a non stop war from the start , both fighters having their moments with most rounds won by the slightest of margins. 'Chocolatitio' seemed to win several of the opening 6 rounds with most people in agreement. He had the most success in my opinion but Estrada was still very busy landing a lot of shots causing the argument of him winning these rounds.

The fight seemed to get better and better as it went on , 2529 punches were thrown ,in this fight , A new super-flyweight record.

The boxing was on another level , with both of the fighters showcasing World class boxing skills and showing why they deserve to be on most peoples Pound for Pound lists.

As the fight entered the later rounds the action did not stop , both fighters still with outrageous output.

Juan Francisco Estrada retains his WBC Flyweight and The Ring Super-flyweight and added the WBA (super) title to his collection.

The scorecards read ,  117-111 Estrada , 113-115 Chocolatito , 115-114 Estrada 

Also on the card 

Jessica McCaskill beats Cecillia Braekhus  

Retains Undisputed Championship

Hirotio Kyoguchi beats Axel Vega 

Vega suffered suspected broken hand in the 5th and the fight was stopped as a result. Kyoguchi retains WBA Junior flyweight title

Austin ' Ammo' Williams beats Denis Douglin by UD 

Raymond Ford drew with Aaron Perez

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 Anthony Fowler wants Fitzgerald rematch or winner of Cheeseman v Metcalf 

Anthony Fowler Says he wants Fitzgerald rematch or to fight the winner of Ted Cheeseman v JJ Metcalf for the British title later this year 

2016 Rio Olympian Anthony 'The Machine' Fowler is back in action on March 20th looking to make it 5 wins on the bounce when he faces Spaniard Jorge Fortea (21-2-1) on Lawrence Okolie's undercard.

I asked some questions leading up to the fight 

Question ; First of all Anthony , how is training going for you ahead of the fight and has the fight date being moved to March affected your training at all?

Answer; Training went brilliant ,Shane always keeps us ready , I'm always keeping my weight at a good place , so I'm happy to be fighting.

Question ; What are you expecting from your opponent Jorge Fortea come fight night?

Answer ; I'm expecting a very hard fight , I've watched him and he knows his way round the ring. He's hard to pin down and land clean shots , he's tough and has a very relaxed , calm style.

Question ; If you win this fight where would you be looking to go after , would it be a domestic fight with the likes of Cheeseman , Eggington or the rematch with Scott Fitzgerald?

Answer ; of course id like the rematch to put everything right and win , but my career isn't defined by Scott. I've been winning since that night picking up good solid wins while he's been inactive , so I'm not waiting round for anyone but I'd love that in the summer , if not ill happily fight the winner of Cheeseman and Metcalf for the British.

Question ; In terms of the rematch with Fitzgerald is that being discussed already? We know that Scott is back out in the ring this year , could that fight potentially take place in the summer or later in the year?

Answer ; We've spoken about the rematch , nothing in depth but obviously time frames. So I just want that done as soon as possible so I can push on.

Question ; and finally looking to the main event Okolie v Glowacki , what's your prediction for the fight?

Answer ; Regarding Lawrence I only see it going one way , the man has been on fire in the gym , his dedication is second to none . It will be a pleasure watching him win the World title and training alongside a genuine World champion . He's some man , I love his energy in the gym.

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 Ted Cheeseman hoping for World Title Eliminator if he gets past JJ Metcalf

Former British champion Ted Cheeseman is looking to box in a World title eliminator if he gets past JJ Metcalf in an exciting domestic fight later this month on the Povetkin v Whyte 2 undercard.

'The Big Cheese' Cheeseman(16-2-1) lost the British title in October 2019 to domestic rival Scott Fitzgerald in a very close fight which could have gone either way but will be looking to win that title back on March 27th.

Cheeseman last fight was a win against Sam Eggington last year in Matchroom's Fight Camp , a fight of the year candidate , with many fans asking for the rematch.

We asked Ted a few questions ahead of his upcoming fight.

Question ; First of all Ted , how's training going and how are you feeling going into the fight with Metcalf?

Answer ; 'Training has gone really well , its been a long camp but we are nearly there now , and I'm feeling really confident ready to do the business.'

Question ; What are you expecting from your opponent Metcalf come fight night? and how do you see the fight going?

Answer ; 'It will be a good fight and we will find out how good Metcalf really is'

Question ; If you win this fight , what would be your next move ? would you look to face another domestic fighter or move to European?

Answer ; 'I would hope to push for a World title eliminator as I would be in the top 5 in the world'

Question ; Is there any fight you're really pushing for ? like the Anthony Fowler fight or a Scott Fitzgerald rematch?

Answer ; 'Any fight that pushes me close to my goal of becoming a World champion.'

You can watch Ted Cheeseman v JJ Metcalf on Sky Sports Box Office , March 27.

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