Danenberg and Benmansour both debuted at GLORY 31 AMSTERDAM but their fights had very different outcomes. Danenberg had a great performance against Maximo Suarez of Spain and emerged victorious, Benmansour had a poor showing against Murthel Groenhart and was stopped in the first round by way of three knockdowns.
On paper Danenberg looked to have the advantage in this fight, towering over Benmansour and enjoying a much longer reach. But Benmansour has a very awkward fighting style and he was constantly able to negate Danenberg's range by swarming him and getting in close.
Unfortunately, it made for a very visually unappealing fight. It was marred by continual clinching as Benmansour would find his face pressed into Danenberg's torso and would wrap his arms around it. Over the course of the fight he received numerous warnings from the referee – including no less than four “final warnings” - but the constant clinching continued.
It wasn't all Benmansour's fault; sometimes Danenberg would wrap him up as well, but on the whole it was Danenberg who was having his cleaner style frustrated rather than Benmansour, who has turned in this kind of performance before.
Statistically the fight was actually quite close. The landing of clean kicks and punches was often rarely discernible but the numbers stayed fairly parallel throughout. The highlight of the fight was when Benmansour hit a spinning backfist that appeared to knock Danenberg down, though the referee ruled it a slip.
Overall it was a disappointing fight which didn't show the best of either fighter. Had Benmansour actually been deducted a point, which the referee continually threatened, he would have lost the fight. As it was, four judges had it for Benmansour and one for Danenberg.
Karim Benmansour (47-6-2) def. Eyevan Danenberg (23-5-0), Majority Decision, R3Â (29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
