Benn KO’s Algieri in 4th, says ‘I want the top five’

Conor Benn is doing a good job of keeping up the family tradition after knocking out former world champion Chris Algieri in the fourth round Saturday at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England.

Benn still has a long way to go if he is to emulate the feats of his father, Nigel, who became one of the United Kingdom’s most popular boxers ever during reigns as world middleweight and super middleweight champion in the 1990s. But Conor Benn took a significant step toward big fights by flooring Algieri in the second round before stopping the American with a right hook in the fourth.

It was a finish Nigel would have been proud of in his heyday.

Benn, 25, is ranked No. 5 by two world governing bodies, and No. 7 by another. One possibility for Benn, before a world title shot, could be facing the winner of a Feb. 19 clash between former world champions Kell Brook and Amir Khan. Both are a decade older than Benn.

“Get me Khan or Brook,” Benn told DAZN. “I didn’t call out Brook because we are pals, but whoever the winner of that one is — and if they don’t want it I will fight Adrien Broner in America. If Broner doesn’t want it, I fancy [WBA world welterweight champion] Yordenis Ugás.”

Benn might not be ready for the world’s best in Terence Crawford, Errol Spence and Vergil Ortiz Jr., but Saturday’s effort was a bold statement to the world’s welterweight elite.

“I want the top five for a reason, and no one has done that to Algieri,” Benn said. “What more do I have to do? I’m coming for them.”

Benn (20-0, 13 KOs), who grew up in Australia and Spain but is now based in Essex, England, continued his impressive run of form this year, after he took out Samuel Vargas of Colombia inside a round in April and then earned a unanimous decision over Adrian Granados of Mexico in September.

Algieri (25-4, 9 KOs), 37, who is from New York but trains in Florida, arrived in England talking about reviving a career that has seen him fight the world’s best welterweights. Algieri beat Ruslan Provodnikov for the WBO world super lightweight title in 2014 but then lost to Manny Pacquiao for the world welterweight title later in 2015. He lost again to Errol Spence in another world title attempt a year later.

Algieri’s career has since drifted, and he needed to gain momentum in this fight but found himself under pressure from the first round. Benn started aggressively, digging in a good left to the body before shaking Algieri with a right hand later in the opener.

Worse was to come for Algieri, who complained about being given a count in the second round when a cuffing left hook to the side of the head sent him spinning across the canvas and tangled in the ropes.

Benn continued to dominate and in the fourth round landed the perfect one-two, with a pinpoint jab followed by a crunching right.

Taylor sets up Serrano showdown

Katie Taylor, ESPN’s No. 1 women’s pound-for-pound boxer, endured a difficult fight at times in a unanimous points win over Firuza Sharipova that sets up the possibility of her fighting Amanda Serrano next year.

The Irishwoman earned scores of 98-92, 97-92 and 96-93 to retain all four world lightweight titles and potentially set up a huge fight for women’s boxing in 2022.

Seven-weight world champion Serrano, of Brooklyn, New York, via Puerto Rico, is the WBC and WBO world featherweight champion. She next faces Spain’s Miriam Gutierrez in Tampa on Dec. 18.

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn hopes Taylor (19-0, 6 KOs), 35, versus Serrano (41-1-1, 30 KOs), 33, can happen at Madison Square Garden, possibly in April 2021.

“[2021] was a great year and prepares me for a great year next year,” Taylor said. “Amanda Serrano, Jessica McCaskill and whoever else — we are ready for a great 2022. It’s probably the biggest fight in women’s boxing right now [versus Serrano], it’s an iconic stadium, I can’t wait. It’s beyond a dream.”

Hearn has already been in talks with Serrano’s team.

“The plan 100% is Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden, that’s the biggest fight in women’s boxing,” Hearn told DAZN. “She’s boxed two mandatory defenses, she has taken care of her obligations and it is time make the big fight.

“We were at Madison Square Garden, they love the fight, Amanda Serrano fights next week and we wish her the best luck. They [Serrano’s team] are reviewing the contract and maybe April at Madison Square Garden you will see the fight.”

Taylor, who is from Bray in Ireland and based in Connecticut, won for the third time this year following points wins over Jennifer Han and Natasha Jonas. But it took her a while to get into her rhythm.

“We were aware of the challenge, we were prepared for a tough fight,” Taylor said following her 12th defense as world lightweight champion. “She was very scrappy inside and it was hard to get my punches off at times.”

Sharipova (14-2, 8 KOs), 27, from Kazakhstan, made a confident and aggressive start, but by the third round Taylor was catching her increasingly more. The Irishwoman landed a great left hook-right hand combination in the third, then caught Sharipova early in the fourth with a right hand.

Taylor continued to land the better shots in the fifth round, and was given a boost in the sixth round when Sharipova was docked a point for holding.

Sharipova was aggressive in the later rounds, but Taylor showed her experience and quality in the ninth and 10th rounds to ensure victory. The fight finished with a toe-to-toe exchange, which Taylor dominated by landing left hooks out of clinches.