There is a sort of friendly rivalry between Conor Benn and Shakur Stevenson.
Despite the divisional distance between them – Stevenson is a lightweight titleholder while Benn has competed in recent years between welterweight and middleweight – there is also playful banter between them. They will compliment and insult each other, sometimes in the same sentence.
And they’re considering fighting each other.
Benn and Stevenson were booked separately for Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show, with Stevenson appearing earlier on and another buffer guest intentionally between him to give space before Benn’s time slot.
Helwani asked Stevenson about the possibility of facing Benn during the WBC lightweight titleholder’s segment.
“It gotta be at 147,” Stevenson responded. “I know I said on air [in a previous episode], 154, but I'm not a ’47-pounder. I’m not even a ’40-pounder, for real, for real. I’m really like a ’35 and can make ’30-pounder. I would fight him at ’47 just because I don’t think he’s that big. He’s stocky, but as far as – he ain’t on my level, bro. There’s levels to this. Conor Benn is cool, but I’m picking on the dude. I’m picking on that guy, to be honest.”
Stevenson praised Benn as “tough” and with “a lot of heart,” and he said he’d be willing to travel overseas into hostile territory for the match.
“I would love to go to London and fight him in front of his fans,” Stevenson said. “London got the most good fans. They study the actual sport of boxing. Let’s make it happen. I would love to do it.”
Stevenson stuck around the studio and, with Benn’s blessing, they shared the set for part of Benn’s segment.
Benn gave a backhanded compliment about Stevenson’s unanimous decision win this past weekend over his mandatory challenger, William Zepeda.
“Well done, because it was sort of entertaining, especially the part where you got clipped and you almost went over,” Benn teased. “That was really entertaining.”
Stevenson responded: “Oh, you thought I got clipped? I won my fight. Your last fight, what did you do?”
Like a boxer, he’d thrown out a counter about Benn’s unanimous decision loss to Chris Eubank Jnr in April in a Fight of the Year candidate.
Now it was Benn’s turn to retaliate.
“Let’s see you jump up two weight divisions and see how you do,” Benn said. “You can come up. I’m telling you now, I like you, but I don’t think that’s good for your health.”
Stevenson repeated what he’d told Helwani earlier about Benn not being that big.
Benn: “When I hit you, you’ll feel it.”
Stevenson: “You’re not gonna hit me.”
Benn: “What, you’re gonna be on your bike? You’re gonna be running?”
Stevenson: “I don’t have to run. Did you watch my fight [with Zepeda]?”
Benn, who says that Eubank may pull out of their announced September 20 rematch at middleweight, said he’d return to welterweight – where Benn hasn’t fought since April 2022 – and face Stevenson in November.
“After I beat you, just tell me I’m great,” Stevenson said.
Benn: “You ain’t great. I watched the fight. Your IQ’s phenomenal. You’re not that good-looking, though, so you can’t take that one. But I will batter you at 147.”
Benn ultimately agreed that, if defeated, he’d give Stevenson the compliment he’s seeking.
Said Stevenson: “And if you beat me, I’ll tell you you’re great. But you’re not beating me.”
They then shook hands. The question will be whether they’ll soon exchange hands as well.
It wasn’t over, though. Stevenson wasn’t about to let an exchange end without one parting shot.
Stevenson: “How many amateur fights you have?”
Benn: “About 22.”
Stevenson: “When did you start boxing?”
Benn: “17.”
Stevenson: “You’re cooked. I started boxing when I was 5 years old. I’ve been in this game for 23 years. How many years you been in this? You can’t beat me.”
There’s only one way for Stevenson to prove himself right – and Benn to prove him wrong.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
