Conor Benn is back in Mallorca, his second home, having spent twelve years growing up on the island.

Conor Benn is back in Mallorca, his second home, having spent twelve years growing up on the island. | Conor Benn

Humphrey CarterPalma01/06/2024 10:17
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Conor Benn is back in Mallorca, his second home, having spent twelve years growing up on the island after his father, the famous British boxer and double world champion Nigel “The Dark Destroyer” Benn, moved to the island before finally deciding to emigrate with the family to Australia. It was Down Under where Conor “The Destroyer” Benn began boxing as an amateur before starting his professional career. And to date, the middleweight and super-middleweight boxer has an impressive record of total fights 23; wins 22, wins by knockout 14. He told the Bulletin that he is planning on getting back in the ring for his next competitive bout in about two months time.

“There’s plenty of talk going on behind the scenes and there is no shortage of boxers I either want to fight or want to fight me. I’m the number one boxer in my weight in the UK and Europe and one of the top three in the world and so far no one has got the blueprint on how to beat me so bring it on,” said Conor, who speaks fluent Spanish and loves nothing better than practising every time he is back on the island he considers his second home. I’ll be back in six weeks or so, fights pending,” he added. Needless to say he has unfinished business with Chris Eubank Jr., whose father Nigel Benn knew well.

Waiting for the call
“I’m still waiting for the call,” Conor said. In the meantime, Gervonta “Tank” Davis is seemingly going to fight Conor “The Destroyer” Benn next after calling him out recently via social media and getting boxing promoter Eddie Hearn to confirm that it is a “done” deal. But while the negotiations continue, Conor is firmly focused on training. “It’s all about staying firmly on the road to success and the vast majority of my work is done outside of the ring. “I’m not one for all the showboating. It’s a sport and it’s my business. In the ring on the night is where the business gets done but behind all that is a great deal of extremely hard work.

Temptations
“There’s a serious amount of hard graft involved and I’m a grafter. Yes, boxing can be glamorous, but it also has its pitfalls. There are temptations, gambling and all that, and over the years we’ve seen a number of boxers and other great sporting legends, some of the very best, fall into the traps. But that’s not my style. I guess I’ve learnt a lot from by dad, my idol, but I’ve also learnt a great deal on my own. My faith is very important to me and that is something else my dad instilled in me. I’m a devout Christian. You obviously have to live a little, enjoy life and the family, make the most of what you work for, but my approach to boxing and life in general is pretty simple ‘work hard and take no crap’. I’m doing all the hard work when no one’s watching. I could be training in the gym at two or three o’clock; I could be out for a run and any time of the day.

This is no game
“It’s all about getting things done and the most important thing is to get things done when you least feel like it. To be the best you’ve got to push yourself. Even if you don’t want to train or go to the gym, it’s got to be done. This is no game and you’ve always got to be ready and if it means training on a Sunday, it gets done in my book. Like I said, fingers crossed the next bout will be in a couple of months time so I can quite literally never let my guard down,” Conor said.

A calling
“It’s a mindset and mine is getting the results,” he added. Growing up in Mallorca, where his father taught him financial self-reliance by never giving him money, Benn had no real career plans.
“I guess I had a calling and that was boxing. I never planned on fighting despite my father’s great success. Perhaps it chose me, destiny if you like. Whatever, I just intend on being the best.”