Hearn: The Fight That Kell Brook Wants Is Conor Benn - Not Liam Smith

Specifically, the head of Matchroom Boxing believes that former welterweight titlist Kell Brook, who retired last year, is a prime candidate to fight Benn, whose two positive tests for a banned substance last year have scandalized British boxing.

Recently, an independent panel lifted a provisional suspension on Benn, only for United Kingdom Anti-Doping and the British Boxing Board of Control to file an appeal against that decision.

Despite that development, Hearn has insisted that Benn could return to the ring as soon as September. As for a Brook fight, Hearn is eyeing that for December.

The 37-year-old Brook, who retired immediately after his gratifying win over longtime rival Amir Khan in February 2022, has repeatedly hinted at a ring return. There has been talk that Brook could face someone like Liam Smith, the middleweight from Liverpool who is set to rematch Chris Eubank Jr. this Saturday after upsetting the latter by stoppage earlier this year.

A Brook-Smith fight would be promoted by one of Hearn’s rivals, Boxxer, which has an exclusive output deal with the British broadcasting giant Sky.

“I think Sky are trying to talk Kell into fighting Liam Smith, probably,” Hearn told Boxing Social. “I don’t think that’s the fight Kell wants. The fight that Kell wants is Conor Benn but we haven’t made him an offer for that yet. We will look to do [the fight]—it’s a great fight—for December.

“Obviously, we’ll probably make a decision this week as to if Conor fights in September. But if not, maybe he goes straight into the Kell Brook fight and I think that’s realistic for December.”

Last month, Brook (40-3, 28 KOs) remarked that the three fighters that could coax him to return to boxing are Smith, Eubank, and Benn.

Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.