Conor Benn made his much-anticipated return to the ring after a lengthy hiatus and a tumultuous period marred by a drug testing scandal, as he returned to a rather lackluster performance at junior middleweight against Rodolfo Orozco. Fighting in the United States for only the second time, Benn won a ten-round decision at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Flordia.
Benn was dominant display but looked undersized at junior middleweight as his opponent Orozco looked much bigger than him. Also, Benn came to fame not just for his famous father, Nigel Benn, but also for delivering exciting knockouts. This fight was void of that or any real drama.
Benn looked sharp early on, but his major issue was the power from welterweight didn't seem to have the same effect on his opponent at junior middleweight. His opponent, Orozco, was able to come forward and pressure Benn which surprised many. In fact, Orzoco had more success than many expected with his flurries and aggression. The best round of the fight was the fifth which saw a spirited effort from both, but Orozco getting into wild exchanges.
The fight came down to a deeper skillset from Benn giving him the advantage, but he didn't return with a bang as many hoped. Rather than the performance it is the circumstance that will be remembered.
Conor Benn's return to the ring was overshadowed by the ongoing drug testing scandal. Although licensed in the U.S., Benn remains unlicensed in the UK, and the resolution of the doping issue is crucial for determining the trajectory of his career, and where he will fight. The hope for fans of Benn would've been a performance that forced people to talk about an exciting performance. Sadly for them, this was not that as the main story leaving the contest is around the cloud that hangs over him, as it seems that he will probably look to fight Chris Eubank Jr. at some point in the future.
The scores were 99-91, 99-91, and 96-94 all in Benn's favor.
