Conor Benn earned a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over little-known American Peter Dobson in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
The 27-year-old, who was fighting Stateside for the second time since he failed two drugs tests in the lead up to his scheduled fight with Chris Eubank Jr in October 2022, dominated the scorecards 119-109, 118-110, 118-110 despite being taken the distance.
Benn was made to work for victory in the welterweight clash, as the New York native weathered his flurry of punches, though he did rock his opponent with a stinging left-hook early on.
Still, his inability to end the fight early would have provided some frustration against Dobson, who, though undefeated in his previous 16 bouts, was expected to be a routine challenger.
‘I don’t miss when I shoot, but he took the shots, he was in there to survive.’ Benn said after the fight. ‘You can always do better, I’ll go back and assess, no doubt I’ll be disappointed, but overall this is about me getting back to where I was mentally.’
Conor Benn claimed a unanimous decision victory against little known American Peter Dobson
It was his econd fight since returning to boxing following two failed drug tests last year
Benn had looked set to finally fight Eubank Jr on February 3 after their 2023 bout was cancelled due to Benn’s positive test for the banned substance clomifene two days before the event.
The welterweight prospect has maintained his innocence ever since and made his comeback against Mexico’s Rodolfo Orozco in September, winning the 10-round contest on points.
Orozco subsequently tested positive for a banned substance in the aftermath of the fight.
After coming through that fight unscathed, Benn and his team were keen to reschedule the clash with Eubank Jr, as tensions between the pair had only ratcheted up since their original fight was called off at the last minute.
Eddie Hearn revealed in November that they could have fought at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night – instead of Benn facing Dobson.
But a deal could not be struck, leading to Benn facing Dobson instead as he looks to continue to rebuild his career after a lengthy lay-off.
The difficulties in organising the much-anticipated clash have clearly stuck with promoter Eddie Hearn, who didn’t miss the opportunity to hit out at Eubank Jr for passing up the chance to fight for a mega payday.
‘People will always criticise Conor Benn but will they step up and fight him?’ Hearn said on Saturday night. ‘He still wants the names at 147 pounds.
Eddie Hearn and Benn had some choice words for Chris Eubank Jr after the fight, with the promoter urging him to make the grudge match happen
‘I’m still baffled by Chris Eubank Jr. People talk about him making 160 pounds, no one talks about Conor Benn moving up two divisions to fight him.
‘He’ll criticise tonight, he’ll talk about this but yet he’ll continue to turn down a payday three times bigger than he can get anywhere else.
‘So if [Benn] is easy work and you want to make the biggest fight in the history of British boxing, make it. I’m just still baffled by that.’
‘He’s a p***y,’ Benn added bluntly. ‘That’s it, that’s all there is to it.’