Eddie Hearn is chomping at the bit to put a mega-fight together between his fighter welterweight Conor Benn and undefeated lightweight star Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis this year.
Hearn is confident that the lightweight Tank (27-0, 25 KOs) won’t have problems moving up to 147 to face the popular Benn at 147.
Benn would have the power & size advantage, but he hasn’t shown the kind of boxing IQ that the 28-year-old Gervonta possesses, and he hasn’t accomplished anything during his career in terms of winning world titles.
The two fighters, Benn & Tank, have been trading trash-talk on social media in the last two weeks, making it clear that they’ve got bad blood.
Hearn says a fight is possible Benn (21-0, 14 KOs) will be free & clear to return to the ring in early to mid-2023 after the WBC & VADA wraps up their investigation over Conor’s failed drug test.
“Conor Benn hasn’t yet performed at that elite level yet, but I believe he’s an elite-level welterweight. I love the fight between Conor Benn and Gervonta Davis. Why not?” said Eddie Hearn to the DAZN Boxing Show about a potential fight between Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Conor Benn.
“Gervonta Davis has fought at light welterweight. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind fighting at 147 or close to [that]. Look, Conor Benn is going to return either in early 2023 or mid-2023. That’s the facts,” said Hearn.
Assuming Hearn is right about Benn being allowed to return to the ring in 2023, it’s still going to be an uphill climb for him to negotiate a fight with Tank Davis because of the network issues. Tank fights on Showtime, while Benn competes on DAZN.
For the fight to get made, the network hurdle would need to be overcome. Additionally, Tank Davis’ management would want strict drug testing to ensure that Benn isn’t using anything because his recent positive tests for clomifene will create a lot of distrust.
Interestingly, Hearn is looking to match Benn against fighters outside of the welterweight division, as it would make more sense for him to be trying to set up fights between him at top 147-pounders like Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, Vergil Ortiz Jr, Errol Spence Jr & Terence Crawford rather than putting him in with 135-pounder Gervonta Davis or middleweight Chris Eubank Jr.
Hearn should try to develop Benn slowly by matching him against increasingly better opposition before throwing him to the wolves.
Thus far, Benn’s best opposition during his short career has been against these older fighters: Adrian Granados, Chris Algieri, and Chris Van Heerden.
If Hearn is unable set up a fight between Benn & Tank Davis, these would be good options for Conor:
- Cody Crowley
- David Avanesyan
- Rashidi Ellis
- Blair Cobbs
- Yordenis Ugas
- Souleymane Cissokho