British fighter Conor Benn may fight WBO world super-lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson after the American called him out in the wake of dominating Teofimo Lopez to win the belt.
Benn confronted Stevenson during The Ring VI card at Madison Square Garden, with the Olympic silver medallist having won by unanimous decision, scoring 119-109 on all judges’ scorecards.
The Brit is already considered the mandatory challenger for Mario Barrios’ WBC welterweight title and will face either Barrios or former WBC interim lightweight champion Ryan Garcia after their fight on 21 February.
Confrontation
The undefeated 25-0 Stevenson, with 11 knockouts, declared that Benn motivated his one-sided victory – a result that saw him become a pound-for-pound great.
Stevenson said: “We’re gonna get it banging! I want that same rehydration clause you put on Chris Eubank Jr and I want that fight!”
Benn responded: “You’re too small for me! You can’t punch me, I’ll put you down. We can do it next! Come up to welterweight with the big dogs!”
Stevenson then added: “He’s food! He’s food!”
The American was referring to a controversial rehydration clause during the Eubank Jr versus Benn rematch in November 2025, when both fighters were restricted to below 170 pounds on the morning of the fight.
Having weighed in at 160 pounds, many interpreted the clause as targeting the bigger man in Eubank Jr, who fought at 168 pounds super-middleweight for the majority of his career.
Benn won that rematch by earning two knockdowns in the 12th round, avenging his loss in the fight-of-the-year-candidate opener by unanimous decision.
In a reversal of the controversy against Eubank Jr, the pressure is now on Benn to accept a 10-pound rehydration clause at 147 pounds.
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Obstacles
‘The Destroyer’ is viewed as the WBC mandatory challenger for the welterweight strap currently held by champion Mario Barrios, who defends his title against fallen star Ryan Garcia later this month.
Barrios has made three defences of his interim and outright world titles, most recently against pound-for-pound greatest of all time Manny Pacquiao.
Garcia, meanwhile, desperately needs a victory after losing to Rolly Romero last January by unanimous decision after being suspended for a year due to testing positive for performance enhancing drug Ostarine.
Both athletes have stated their interest in fighting Benn should they be victorious.
A fight against Stevenson would be a serious step up for the 24-1 Benn, who is yet to fight for a title.
Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn has, however, stated that a world title fight against Romero or the winner of Barrios versus Garcia is the focus.
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Reaction
Four-time super-middleweight champion Carl Froch has little hope that Benn will take the victory.
“Nobody is giving Conor Benn a chance and you can see why,” said Froch.
“Conor Benn is still learning on the job – he has never fought for an English, British, Commonwealth or European title. He is not ready for them kind of opponents.”
Hearn disagreed, saying: “Conor would have a massive challenge on his hands, but he’s up for anything. Conor will fight anybody. I have no fear of that.”
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SportJustSport writers