“If her last name wasn’t Benn, you wouldn’t be anywhere near the level he is,” Malignaggi said on Froch on Fighting. “He’s promoted well. He’s moved well. I don’t think he’s a world-class fighter though. I don’t think his best performances were around that PED suspicion.
“He hasn’t looked good since. He looked bad at this point against a corpse that was Regis Prograis. A corpse version of Regis Prograis. I don’t even think he’s that good. Honestly, who’s his best win?”
Malignaggi went on to suggest that Benn changed his style in an attempt to silence those who questioned his hitting power after the failed drug tests that sidelined his career.
“I look at Conor like he’s so determined to show everybody that he has power after the PED suspicions that he’s punching, he’s trying too hard to punch,” Malignaggi said.
“You can even see it in the last fight. He’s putting on too much weight, even on his jab. He’s trying so hard to show people, ‘No, I was really a natural puncher.’
“My friend, you weren’t. You’re not a puncher. Trying so hard to be a puncher when you’re not a puncher is going to make you look worse. Just cut your punches. Be the best boxer you can be.”
Asked what he expects to happen when Benn steps up against Ryan, Malignaggi offered a blunt prediction.
“He’s getting knocked out,” Malignaggi said. “Garcia’s a big puncher, and he’s fast, and he sets up the power well. I think Conor Benn’s style is made for him.
“He’s not going to do the business. I’ll tell you that. He’s not going to win that fight.”
Benn is expected to face Ryan in September in one of the year’s biggest crossover attractions. While the fight promises significant commercial success, Malignaggi remains unconvinced that Benn possesses the world-class ability needed to upset the former WBC interim lightweight champion.
