Conor Benn’s WBA Continental Welterweight Title clash with former IBO Welterweight World Champion Sebastian Formella will now headline on Saturday November 21 at The SSE Arena, Wembley, with all of the action shown live on Sky Sports and DAZN.
Dillian Whyte was set to headline the card in a rematch of his fifth round knockout defeat to Alexander Povetkin in August, however the Russian tested positive for COVID-19, with their second fight targeted for January 30, enabling then chief support, Benn and Formella to headline.
‘The Destroyer’ (16-0, 11 KOs) scored two big knockout wins in 2019, firstly obliterating Jussi Koivula with a brutal second-round stoppage in his first headline fight at York Hall in June, and then explosively knocking out Steve Jamoye in four rounds at The O2 in October.
Formella (22-1, 10 KOs) went on a 22-fight winning streak, picking up the IBO Welterweight crown against Roberto Arriaza in January earlier this year, before taking two-time World Champion Shawn Porter the distance in his first career defeat in August.
After two quick wins on the spin, unbeaten Croat Alen Babic (5-0, 5 KOs) looks to continue his red-hot run of form with another big knockout win, this time against Hatfield’s Tom Little (10-8, 3 KOs), who has been in with some huge punchers including Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois.
“It’s been a busy period, but I don’t want to rest, I want to fight,” said Babic.
“Tom’s a cool guy, he’s a warrior. We’ve exchanged messages on social media but that won’t hold me back, ‘The Savage’ is waiting to be released and score another KO.”
“Alen makes too many mistakes,” said Little. “I’ve boxed at a much higher level and it will show.
“I’ll be too much for him, this is too early in his career. I’ve been training for a while now with this fight in the back of my mind, so I’m prepared. The so-called Savage won’t hear the final bell.”
Fresh from winning the English Heavyweight Title with a third-round stoppage of Simon Vallily at Fight Camp, Ipswich talent Fabio Wardley (9-0, 8 KOs) takes on Ghana’s Richard Lartey (14-3, 11 KOs) – a former opponent of Dubois and Nathan Gorman.
“Lartey’s a great opponent for me at this stage of my career,” said Wardley.
“He’s a really strong and durable opponent that will definitely look to test me and take me in to the later rounds.
“You’ve seen in his previous fights that he’s not shy of a tear up so there may be moments in the fight when I’ll have to bite down on my gum shield and get stuck in, which I can’t wait for!”
Following the disappointment of his fight with Christopher Lovejoy falling through at the last moment, Heavyweight fan favourite Dave ‘White Rhino’ Allen (18-5-2, 15 KOs) returns to the ring looking to end the year on a high.
Also on the card, Leeds Featherweight prospect Hopey Price (3-0, 1 KO) returns after his win over Jonny Phillips on Fight Camp Week 2 and Donnington’s Liam Davies (7-0, 2 KOs) battles Liverpool’s Sean Cairns (7-2, 1 KO) for the English Bantamweight Title.
Adam Smith, Sky Sports Head of Boxing Development said: “Conor Benn is back, continuing his exciting journey next Saturday night, live on Sky Sports. Of course, we fondly remember his father Nigel, a former World Champion, and we’ve covered Conor’s career since the very start.
“He’s an explosive young talent, so get ready for more fireworks when Conor collides with Sebastian Formella.
“Britain’s Welterweight division is really heating up with Josh Kelly and Chris Kongo also waiting in the wings – and Benn will be hoping to seize his opportunity to impress on a big stage.
“There’s also a Heavyweight triple-header – Fabio Wardley can enhance his growing reputation against Richard Lartey, while Alen ‘The Savage’ Babic battles Tom Little, and Dave Allen also returns in a thriving top division. It should be another superb evening of action on Sky Sports.”
