Conor Benn will defend his WBA continental welterweight title against South Africa’s Chris Van Heerden at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday April 16th, live worldwide on DAZN (excluding New Zealand and Australia).
‘The Destroyer’ (20-0, 13 KOs) secured a stunning knockout win over former world champion Chris Algieri last December, taking out the American with a brutal right hand in the fourth round of their main event clash at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.
The 25-year-old contender from Essex holds top ten rankings with the WBA, WBO and IBF after notching three wins during a breakout 2021 – and the British star believes that 2022 will be an even bigger year for him as he works towards a World Title shot.
"I’m excited to step into the ring with Chris Van Heerden," said Benn.
"Van Heerden is a tough operator and a southpaw who will be in there giving it his all in every round. For me and my team it’s now about fighting every style that we can face as we continue to head towards World Championship status and Van Heerden brings something different to the table than I’ve not faced before.
"With that being said this is another stepping stone for me on my journey to the top, I haven’t seen anything in Van Heerden’s previous fights that I can’t deal with, and I expect another explosive victory on April 16. If he comes to fight or he wants to box, I can deliver that smoke either way!
"The AO Arena has to be one of the most exciting venues to fight in. I love Manchester. I get shown a lot of love and support up in Manchester – it’s a fighting city. I bring the entertainment every time I fight and I can’t wait for April 16.”
‘The Heat’ (28-2-1, 12 KOs), born in Johannesburg, South Africa, previously held the IBO welterweight world title from 2011 until 2013, beating Kaizer Mabuza, Sebastian Andres Lujan and Matthew Hatton during his title reign.
Now residing in Santa Monica, USA, the 34-year-old southpaw is eager to test himself against one of the fastest rising welterweights in world boxing and should provide valuable rounds having only been stopped once by Errol Spence in 32 fights.
"Sometimes it takes 10 years for that one year to come around that completely changes your life," said Van Heerden.
"This is my year. I want to thank Conor Benn for taking the fight, knowing that I'm coming to beat him in his backyard.
"I also want to thank Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing for taking this risk and my manager Peter Kahn for getting this fight done. I am looking forward to putting on a show in Manchester on DAZN."
"Conor Benn is fast becoming one of the biggest stars in British Boxing and he faces by far the toughest test of his career to date when he takes on Chris Van Heerden in Manchester on April 16,” said Matchroom Sport Chairman Eddie Hearn.
“Van Heerden has mixed at the very highest level and faced fearsome Welterweight ‘Boots’ Ennis last time out before the fight was ruled a no contest due to a clash of heads - he always comes to fight, and I expect a gruelling battle for Conor.
"We are building an action-packed card and already announce the rematch of one of the Fight of the Year contender between Chris Billam-Smith and Tommy McCarthy and local star Zelfa Barrett challenges for the European Title. I expect another blistering statement from Conor Benn live worldwide on DAZN."
Benn vs. Van Heerden tops a stacked card which includes European cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith's rematch with Tommy McCarthy, Manchester super-featherweight contender Zelfa Barrett and rising star Campbell Hatton.
2022 – At A Glance
Aside from the April 16 event, DAZN’s schedule for global subscribers in 2022 is strong as ever, including the below with dozens more still to come:
February 5: Carlos Cuadras vs. Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (Winner)
February 12: Daniel Jacobs vs. John Ryder (Winner)
February 19: Jaime Munguía (Winner) vs. D’Mitrius Ballard
February 27: Lawrence Okolie (Winner) vs. Michal Cieslak
March 5: Chocolatito (Winner) vs. Julio Cesar Martinez
March 12: Leigh Wood vs. Michael Conlan
March 19: Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Michael McKinson
March 26: Kiko Martinez vs. Josh Warrington II
April 9: Ryan Garcia vs. Emmanuel Tagoe
April 16: Conor Benn vs. Chris Van Heerden
April 30: Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano
May 7: Canelo Alvarez vs. Dmitry Bivol (Live Exclusively on DAZN PPV in U.S. and Canada)
The May 7 Canelo vs. Bivol mega matchup will be on DAZN PPV in the U.S., marking the first of very occasional events to come that will be sparingly offered to fight fans on top of a DAZN subscription. This event is priced at $59.99 for current subscribers on the app and $79.99 for new subscribers (inclusive of one month’s subscription to DAZN).
The DAZN subscription in the U.S. is currently priced at $19.99 a month or just $99.99 for an entire year (which equates to only $8.33 per month). At this unrivaled value, existing subscribers will continue to enjoy a stacked boxing schedule of at least 50 top-tier fight nights annually, discounted PPV events, and an ever-growing slate of DAZN Originals, including many of the most fascinating stories and figures in boxing.
New subscribers to DAZN in the U.S. can continue to take advantage of the current annual subscription cost of $99.99 until May 2. Those signing up for an annual subscription after May 2 will be charged the new annual price of $149.99 (which still just equates to only $12.50 per month). Existing subscribers will be grandfathered in at their current $99.99 annual subscription cost.
Fight fans and subscribers can check out DAZN's full schedule here.