WHO’S NEXT FOR CONOR BENN?

It wasn’t to be for Conor Benn on Saturday night as the Brit suffered the first defeat of his professional career at the hands of the superstar that is Ryan Garcia.

But, despite the defeat, Benn still remains one of the biggest names in British boxing and across the world, and with that sort of presence in boxing, big fight nights won’t be hard to come by for Benn.

With Conor already confirming that he is moving up in weight, we’ve taken a look at some of the big fights that could be potential options for him at super-welterweight, middleweight and super-middleweight.

Super-Welterweight

Nikita Tszyu

The first name we have picked out is the undefeated Aussie Nikita Tszyu. The son of the great Kostya and brother to Tim, Nikita is a former sparring partner of Benn’s from the early days of his boxing career.

Now 12-0-1, he drew with the tough Ben Mahoney in his last fight, but with big backing from No Limit, Nikita could be the perfect return fight for Benn, especially in Australia considering Benn spent time living there as a teenager and his family still resides there.

Also, it might be a good way for Zuffa to get their foot in the Aussie market alongside a rival of Matchroom’s in No Limit.

Josh Kelly

A rivalry that dates back quite a few years now, these two at one point looked like they were on a bit of a welterweight collision course to face each other. However, it didn’t work out that way and now it may well turn out to be the perfect fight up at 11 stone.

Kelly is currently the reigning IBF world champ and if, and it is a big IF, he manages to get past Jaron Ennis later this year, the Benn fight could be huge.

The only issue is the fact that Kelly is with Matchroom and, obviously, Benn is with Zuffa but, as we well know, money talks.

Vergil Ortiz

The final option for Benn at 154lbs could be a clash with the hard-hitting Vergil Ortiz.

With 22 stoppages from his 24 career wins to date, Ortiz is widely regarded as one of the biggest pound-for-pound punchers in the sport and, for Benn, it would be a huge risk.

However, Ortiz has hit the deck before, twice in fact, in his fight with Serhii Bohachuk, and Benn may see it as the perfect fight to return in because if he did take the 0 of Ortiz, it would almost certainly put him back in world title contention.

Middleweight

Denzel Bentley

Now to the middleweights and the first name we’ve picked out is WBO world champ Denzel Bentley.

The pair are former sparring partners and there is a lot of mutual respect between the two, but earlier this week, Bentley confirmed he is open to giving Benn a shot at his world title if it financially makes sense for him.

Firstly, though, the champion has to get past his mandatory challenger Yoenli Hernandez but, if he does, that’s certainly a fight you could see Benn taking at some point next year.

Aaron McKenna

Another world title that Benn could have a shot at on his return is the IBF, which is currently held by Ireland’s Aaron McKenna.

After signing with Zuffa, McKenna claimed the title when outpointing Etinosa Oliha last month and, with the pair both under the same promoter, it makes a lot of sense.

Benn would likely need a warm-up fight at 160lbs but, if he came through that, it could be a realistic option for the Englishman.

Kell Brook & Liam Smith

Now for a classic past vs present fight against two former world champions.

Former IBF world welterweight champ Kell Brook has made no secret of his desire to get back in the ring, having not fought in nearly five years.

It’s an intriguing fight and it would undoubtedly be a big-money fight for both fighters.

Similar to Brook, Liam Smith is a former world champion, having held the WBO world title down at 154lbs.

He suffered defeat to Aaron McKenna last year and hasn’t fought since. However, he was set to challenge Denzel Bentley for his WBO World Middleweight Title before Bentley was ordered to fight Yoenli Hernandez.

It may not be as big of a money fight for both as the Brook fight but, if Benn got the win over Beefy, it would probably be the best win of his career.

Super-Middleweight

Chris Eubank Jr 3

Up to 168lbs now and the most obvious fight for Benn, out of all of the names we have mentioned across three weight divisions, is undoubtedly the trilogy fight with Chris Eubank Jr.

The pair are 1-1 at middleweight, a weight that Eubank Jr visibly struggled to make, so a decider up at super-middleweight makes a heck of a lot of sense.

They sold out Tottenham Hotspur Stadium TWICE last year and, as well as their family rivalry that dates back decades, you could also potentially have the narrative of Benn’s former promoter Eddie Hearn in the corner of Eubank Jr.

Now that would make the pressers pay-per-view worthy alone, never mind the actual fight, especially with Hearn’s biggest rival Dana White promoting Benn.

Whether people like it or not, it’s still a massive fight and it’s still a fight that would sell both in the UK and abroad.

Callum Simpson

Another intriguing fight for Benn would be reigning British and Commonwealth Super-Middleweight champ Callum Simpson.

Having suffered the first defeat of his career to Troy Williamson last year, the Barnsley man bounced back in impressive fashion with a dominant performance over Williamson in their rematch last month.

Bearing in mind that Benn has never really fought at British level, Simpson would provide the perfect test for him and be the perfect measuring stick to see if Benn has the ability to kick on to world level at 168lbs.

Edgar Berlanga

One of Zuffa’s biggest stars at 168lbs is the outspoken Edgar Berlanga.

After stopping all 16 of his opponents in his first 16 fights, big things were expected of Berlanga, but defeats to Canelo Alvarez and then Hamzah Sheeraz have since stalled his progress.

He stopped Canadian Steven Butler last time out, but he had to climb off the deck to do so and, with them both under the same promotional banner, and taking into account Berlanga isn’t afraid to give out some trash talk, it would be an easy fight to sell and it would certainly be a bit of a firefight.

Hamzah Sheeraz

The final name on our list is WBO World Super-Middleweight champ Hamzah Sheeraz.

Out of all the names listed above, he’d probably be the toughest test for Benn, and understandably so.

It would, though, be an all-British match-up for a world title and that straight away sells.

Sheeraz is set to defend his world title against former middleweight champ Janibek Alimkhanuly but, if he comes through him, there aren’t many bigger fights for him at 168lbs than Benn aside from the Canelo-Mbilli winner.