EDDIE HEARN has serious concerns for Conor Benn ahead of his world title fight – despite their acrimonious split.
‘The Destroyer’ will challenge American Ryan Garcia for the WBC welterweight strap in Las Vegas a week on Sunday morning.
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Benn hasn’t made the 147lbs limit in over FOUR YEARS and is already looking incredibly weight-drained for his first crack at gold.
And former promoter Hearn reckons the Greenwich gladiator, who ended their TEN-YEAR working relationship in February to join UFC boss Dana White‘s Zuffa Boxing, will go into the Sin City showdown a severely depleted fighter.
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He told Fight Hype: “Conor trains so hard. I know we’ve had our differences, but his work ethic is incredible.
“What he is doing to his body consistently, whilst being depleted, is really, really hard work.
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“And you can see it in his face. Not just in the drawnness; I can actually see it in his eyes. I can see the pain in his eyes.
“Because when he’s at 160 and 154lbs, mate, he’s a beast and he’s coming out of training and eating and going again.
“Waking up, eating and going again.
“Now, he’ll be on a big calorie deficit and [on] fight week, he’ll be eating nothing, he’ll be on limited water – and that depletes you.”
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Benn showed remarkable durability in the first of his back-to-back family grudge matches with Chris Eubank Jr, which were up at middleweight, last year.
But Hearn believes his chin could end up betraying him in his upcoming welterweight war, insisting: “You can’t take that punishment against Ryan Garcia.
“If he gets hit flush on the chin at 147 against Ryan Garcia, the fight is over.
“So he’s got to rely on his ability, but he likes to engage and he likes to jump in.
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“Ryan is so reactive; he’s a great counterpuncher.
“Ryan can also be hurt, but I don’t think Conor’s going to punch hard enough at 47.
“You only have to look at him to know [that]. And that’s just now; he’s probably 154 or 156lbs right now.”
Hearn, like many boxing fans, can’t fathom how Benn will look on the scales a week on Friday.
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The veteran promoter said: “He’s gonna have to drop seven or eight pounds between now and next week.
“Wait until you see him on the scales, it won’t be pretty.”