Conor Benn Vs. Shakur Stevenson: Is This The Welterweight Showdown Everyone’s Been Waiting For?

Promoter Eddie Hearn says he’s interested in matching Conor Benn against Shakur Stevenson if Conor’s rematch with Chris Eubank Jr. fails to happen. WBC lightweight champion Shakur said he’s open to moving up to 147 to face the knockout artist Benn at welterweight. It would be Shakur’s biggest fight of his career by far.

Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) has been pushing for a unification match against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis. That fight may not happen anytime soon due to Tank’s recent legal problems. Benn is a more realistic fight for Shakur, given his interest in facing him at welterweight. It might even be a bigger fight for Conor than his clash against Eubank Jr. earlier this year.

Benn vs. Stevenson: Welterweight Fight?

“The whole world wants to fight Conor Benn. You’ve got Shakur Stevenson, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez. They’re all calling him out,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to talkSport Boxing. “Conor and Shakur came together. Shakur is a lightweight. It would be like Conor moving up two divisions like he did. It would be like Shakur doing the same.”

It’s safe to scratch Teofimo, Haney, and Ryan Garcia off the list of potential next opponents for Conor Benn if his rematch with Eubank Jr. falls through. Those guys aren’t going to want to get in the ring with a murderous puncher like Benn.

Haney is likely to be knocked out in his next fight against WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. on November 22nd. So, the last thing that he and his father, Bill Haney, will want is for it to go up against another huge puncher. That would wreck what’s left of Devin’s career.

Ryan Garcia is already incredibly rich now with his $50 million fortune, and coming off an embarrassing loss to Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero last May. He’ll take a hard pass on a fight offer to face Conor. That would be a dumb fight for Ryan to take after his defeat against Rolly. To lure Ryan into a fight with Conor Benn, it might require a purse of $30 million. Anything less than that, he’d like to balk and stay holed up in his new mansion in Los Angeles.

Eddie Hearn: Why Not Shakur?

“Pound-for-pound, he’s a phenomenal fighter, but up at welterweight, Conor feels he’ll give him a run for his money. If we don’t get Eubank and he chooses to duck out of the fight, then why not Shakur Stevenson later in the year?” said Hearn.

Shakur seemed confident when he spoke to Benn during the Ariel Helwani show. However, the only chance of Stevenson taking that fight is if Turki Alalshikh offers him a huge purse to move up in weight to face Conor at 147.

He’s not going to willingly agree to the fight if it’s for the same money he got for his title defense against William Zepeda last Saturday night in Queens, New York. Unlike Zepeda, Benn can punch and possesses one-punch power that would make life difficult for Shakur inside the ring against him.