Conor Benn is under no illusions that his preferred fight is unlikely to materialize any time soon, barring some kind of institutional pressure from the sport’s sanctioning bodies.
Benn, the promising British welterweight contender, has recently repeatedly said his priority at the moment is to face former 147-pound titlist and longtime divisional fixture Keith Thurman. Benn is coming off a destructive stoppage over shopworn veteran Chris van Heerden last month, starching the South African in two rounds at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.
After the bout, Benn, who has handled various former contenders with relative ease the past couple of years, promised he would face someone on a much higher level in his next bout. Enter Thurman. There is only one problem. The Clearwater, Florida, native is backed by Premier Boxing Champions, an entity that does not do much business with Matchroom Boxing, the promotional company that promotes Benn. Eddie Hearn, the head of Matchroom, recently stated that his relationship with PBC was “poor.” PBC is helmed by founder Al Haymon.
Benn (21-0, 14 KOs) confirmed that the Thurman fight, in any case, will not be happening next, since Benn’s next projected fight date, July 9, already makes it unlikely that Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) will accept a deal to face him on such short notice.
“No world level fighter is going to take a fight at seven, eight weeks’ notice, so obviously I just have to make sure to stay ready and do whatever they present to me,” Benn told Boxing Social.
Benn, 25, understands that no matter how many times he calls out Thurman, 33, the reality is that the promotional rift between his backer and Thurman’s makes it unlikely for both sides to come to an agreement voluntarily. In that sense, Benn views a sanctioning body-decreed eliminator as the only possible solution.
“They all beef don’t they?” Benn said of rival promoters. “It’s not really like, as people think, that fights are easy to get made, but it’s not as simple as one plus one, unfortunately, which is annoying. But it (Thurman fight) would have to be made as a final eliminator.
“I can’t see PBC going, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll let Thurman go on a DAZN show.’ And I don’t see my team going, ‘Yeah, we’ll let him fight on a PBC show.’ So it would take for a final eliminator to get ordered, which could very well be. If it is ordered, may the highest purse bidder win.”
Benn made it clear his loyalty lies with Hearn and Co.
“I think Matchroom have done me so well in my career,” Benn said. “I trust them to make these big fights. I trust them to deliver these big fights. They haven’t let me down so far, so, you know, listen, they’ve got me to where I got to.
"It’s like people going – say if I lost my next two fights – would I change trainers? No. My trainer has got me to where I am now. Do you know what I mean? My promotional team have got me to where I am now, sitting top five in every governing body, as well as being a young millionaire.”
