Conor Benn “will step up in class” after his demolition of South African southpaw Chris van Heerden in two explosive rounds in Manchester on Saturday night in Manchester, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.
Welterweight Benn, 25, blew away his 34-year-old opponent with alacrity to record his 21st career victory.
“The most important thing next for Conor Benn is a big, big fight and a big step-up,” said Hearn. “The test tonight was the experience, the southpaw stance of Chris van Heerden.”
Benn, who attacked from the off, floored van Heerden with an uppercut and a right hook in the second round. “I wasn’t surprised,” said the son of British boxing legend Nigel Benn. “I hit him in the first round hard and when you hit someone hard, you know it hurts them. I knew he was going to try and use his trickiness, but it wasn’t going to work for him and I caught up with him.”
“I believe I’m one of the best welterweights in the world. I ain’t fussed who I fight next, I’ll fight whoever, any of them.”
Hearn added: “It took one round for him to get used to that, before he absolutely demolished him. And when you demolish the opposition like that, you need to make big jumps. The progression of Benn has been tremendous, he’s boxed all over the country, great crowd in Liverpool last time, great crowd in Manchester.”
Hearn added: “This is a true star of British boxing, this could be a global star. This is now an elite world welterweight fighter. He’s going to go on and become a world champion, now we’ve got to step up the opposition. He’s had a great development in Vargas, Granados, Algieri, Van Heerden, now it’s time for the more serious players in the division.”
Benn was joined in the ring by Amir Khan post-fight, but the former world champion declined Benn’s offer to fight him this summer, and Hearn confirmed that there will be no contest between them, but the promoter reasoned that “Kell Brook [who defeated Khan convincingly by stoppage in February] would be the perfect opponent”. Mikey Garcia, the four weight world champion, is also a strong option.” won’t be happening next.
“it won’t be Amir Khan next, he won’t be around until the end of the year,’ Hearn said. ‘I’m talking Mikey Garcia, Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman, Adrien Broner, David Avanesyan, we want a big fight.’
“One name I didn’t mention was Kell Brook,”added Hearn. “I think that’s the perfect fight to establish who’s the best welterweight in Britain, and I think that’s this man right here.”
In the United States, welterweight world champion Errol Spence stopped Yordenis Ugas in the tenth round to add the WBA (Super) title to his WBC and IBF world titles in a classy performance in Texas. Spence called out WBO champion Terence Crawford for an undisputed challenge for all the belts at 147lbs. “Everybody knows who I want next. I want Terence Crawford next,” said 32-year-old Spence. “That’s the fight that I want, it’s the fight everybody else wants. Terence, I’m coming for that belt.”