Nigel Benn reveals three-man hit list: “It’s too soon for Conor to face Gervonta Davis”
American sensation Gervonta Davis has been involved in heated arguments online with British rival Conor Benn, with promoter Eddie Hearn attempting to make a grudge match between them.
Davis was very vocal about the offer not being high enough, even sharing the exact message from Hearn offering him $10million, so the fight is seemingly dead for now.
However, Conor’s dad Nigel admits his son needs more time before stepping in with a four-weight world champion, but says he is ready for Chris Eubank Jr next.
Speaking to Fruity Slots, former two-weight world champion Benn said: “It’s a big fight, but me personally I’d love to see the fight, but not now. I think he needs to get his name cleared so he’s in the right frame of mind, this has been lingering now for almost two years – we are yet to see a quarter of Conor’s potential – but I just don’t want him to rush into something.
“He needs to have a clear mind. Get himself back on track, two or three more fights, and then Gervonta. There was a lot of pressure on him in his last fight, he should have had another fight after the one in Orlando before the one he’s just had, so he’s just got to build himself back up again.
“He’s definitely got to clear his head, you’ve got to understand, the last few years he’s been through so much. We’re nearly there now at the finishing line. Because you’ve got to understand, when he’s taking all of these fights, he’s got so much going on in his head – so much.”
Conor’s last fight saw him claim a unanimous decision victory over unbeaten American Peter Dobson, but it was an uninspiring performance.
Even Nigel seemed unimpressed with the victory, “I don’t really think he was in a clear mind, but he did the 12 rounds, and he did the rounds kind of easy, but it was still a lot of pressure, two undefeated fighters in there, but I don’t think he fought his best. He wasn’t using his jab, he wasn’t slipping, he was just loading up, so hopefully now a lot of people are thinking ‘I haven’t got anything to worry about’ but I know that wasn’t the best Conor.”
Then, the 60-year-old revealed his preferred hit list for his son, “I would like to see three fights next: Mario Barrios, Chris Eubank Jr or Liam Smith.
“He’s ready for Eubank and Smith right now – I’m not worried about Eubank whatsoever. In the second fight against Eubank, Smith threw 34 punches, what’s that all about? You can see his ankles were all over the place. For the first round Eubank was holding on for dear life and then after three rounds he realised nothing was coming back because Smith never threw nothing. That was a shell of a man, that wasn’t the Smith we knew. We’d take Smith or Eubank wherever whenever.”
Benn-Eubank
“I hope the Eubank fight does happen, where else is he going to go. The only big payday he’s going to get is with Conor, no-one else because the champions they could put him in with – I believe he will get beat. If he wants a big payday, it’s only Conor Benn. He’s saying Conor needs to clear his name, I understand, Conor will clear his name, but is he ready for Conor? Because Conor’s ready for him.”
“It’s a mammoth fight, they can pack out Old Trafford like we did. They won’t have half a billion people watching – I wish there was pay per view then- but it’s a big fight. People are worried about Conor Benn moving up to 160, but at the end of the day Conor walks around at 12 stone anyway, so that’s not a problem at all making the weight.”
“I would love it to be Old Trafford and you know what, Conor was going to get the same outfit that I wore to fight Eubank, he’s had that already made. The same outfit. I know we were right there and it all fell through, but it’s the only big payday Eubank has got, him and Kell Brook is not the same.
“Benn and Eubank will sell. The O2 sold out in 12 minutes, now it’s double the size. They were talking about Tottenham, I don’t know where it will go next but I hope it’s in England, I don’t want it to be in Saudi, it’s not the same atmosphere. We want ‘come on lads let’s have it’ . They might get pound notes in Saudi, but they can make the money in England.
“Conor would love it at Old Trafford, I know he’d love that, that would be the icing on the cake. For me and him. Just talking about it has hairs standing up on the back of my neck, that would be it. And then for Conor to roll him over, that would be the icing on the cake, watching my son go out there and do a number on him. It’s the only fight Eubank has got.”