Naseem Hamed says Conor Benn already proved he is world level

Hamed says Benn proved his level by beating Chris Eubank Jr despite ongoing criticism

Prince Naseem Hamed says Conor Benn has already proven he is world level following his win over Chris Eubank Jr. Hamed pointed to that result as the key answer to ongoing doubts about Benn’s standing.

Benn is being lined up for a shot at Ryan Garcia’s WBC welterweight title despite not fighting at 147 pounds since 2022, and that has kept the doubt around him alive. His clear decision win over Regis Prograis earlier this month did little to quiet that criticism, with some pointing to his inability to stop an older, smaller opponent as a reason to question how far he can go.

Hamed does not see it that way. He feels that Benn already answered the bigger question when he defeated Eubank Jr, a fighter many had long treated as a genuine world-level name.

“I don’t know how anybody can say that he is not world level, and I’ll tell you why – nobody ever said that Chris Eubank Jr. was not world level,” said Hamed to talkSport Boxing.

“Eubank Jnr, regardless of what I said about him in the past, he proved me wrong, he came back. He is world-level, he is world-class.”

That is a stronger endorsement than it might sound at first, because Hamed had been one of Eubank Jr’s harshest critics in the past. By admitting Eubank proved him wrong, he is also giving Benn full credit for beating an opponent he now accepts belonged at a serious level.

Naz is looking at this through the lens of domestic stardom rather than divisional depth. While Eubank Jr. is a massive name in the UK, his resume lacks the wins over elite, prime opposition that would justify calling him a “world class” benchmark for someone moving up in weight.

Carlos Adames and Yoenis Hernandez are physically imposing, high-output middleweights. If Benn struggled to find a finishing gear against a 140-pounder like Regis Prograis, the idea of him standing up to the power of a natural 160-pounder like Adames is a tough sell.

Placing Benn in the ring with Osleys Iglesias or Christian Mbilli would be a mismatch of dangerous proportions. Even with a rehydration clause to handicap them, the sheer physical size and relentless pressure those two provide would likely overwhelm a blown-up welterweight.

The issue many fans have with Benn’s recent trajectory is the lack of traditional building blocks. He is being moved like a superstar without the typical contender phase at 147 or 154.

It seems like Benn is being positioned for the biggest paydays possible while the hype is still high, rather than taking the risks associated with fighting the top guys at welterweight, middleweight, or super middleweight divisions.

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