In the opinion of quite a few people, 28 year old Conor Benn’s stock and rep rose in defeat to the naturally bigger Chris Eubank Junior, this in their better than expected battle. Now looking to the future, Benn, a natural welterweight, says he still wants to avenge his first pro loss but that he has other options. These options, Benn explained when speaking with Sky Sports, include fights with Rolly Romero, Mario Barrios, and even Manny Pacquiao.
Romero as we know upset Ryan Garcia in a big way to become WBA “regular” welterweight champion. Barrios holds the WBC title at the weight, while living legend Pac-Man is, we hear, supposed to be fighting Barrios in July. Benn, 23-1(14) says he could fight either man next if there is no immediate rematch with Eubank Jr.
“The rematch [with Eubank Jr] is in demand,” Benn said. “It’s very rare that you gets fights of that magnitude and people want a rematch. I think the loss was controversial, it could have gone either way. The scorecards were very wide. But ultimately I’ll do my best to make sure that doesn’t happen next time around. But we all have options. I could fight Rolly Romero, he’s just captured the WBA title. I could fight Mario Barrios for the WBC world title. [Pacquiao], he’s past his sell-by date but he’s still a legend – one of the greatest of all time – so regardless, either or, there’s options.”
Benn against either man he listed would likely sell, with plenty of fan interest. These fights look like fights that are destined to take place in the US, and though Benn’s fanbase is not as big in America as it is in the UK, his profile will undoubtedly have risen due to to the thriller with Eubank (which pulled in over 1 million PPV buys around the world).
Can Benn beat Romero, or Barrios, or Pacquiao? Can Benn become a world champion? It might prove hard work for him to shift the muscle he packed on so as to get up to around 156 pounds for the Eubank Jr fight, but if there are no issues there, then Benn could be some major force at 147 pounds over the coming months. Benn showed plenty in the loss to Eubank, a chin for one thing.