Conor Benn is expected to collide with WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia in September, and now former unified super-lightweight titlist Amir Khan has offered his opinion on the bout.
Benn has not fought at welterweight since he knocked out Chris van Heerden in April 2022, with his recent Zuffa Boxing debut coming in a 150lb catchweight affair against Regis Prograis after two middleweight contests against fierce rival Chris Eubank Jr last year.
Nevertheless, Benn is the WBC’s mandatory challenger at welterweight and Garcia, who won the WBC world title when he decisioned Mario Barrios in February, has always been both keen and confident for the challenge.
Speaking to Boxing News, Khan said Benn belongs in fights of such magnitude and that fans are perhaps ‘overlooking’ him, though he does consider him an underdog.
“Conor is a good fighter. He has proven a lot and he has done a lot better than a lot of people thought he was going to do in his career. He is showing a lot of power, movement and skills and he belongs in fights with the top guys, so respect to him.
“A lot of people are going to lean more towards Ryan Garcia in that fight because he has been in with the bigger names, he has had the bigger wars and he has fought at the bigger arenas but one thing about Conor Benn is that you can’t blink. At the end of the day, he can come and take that ‘W’ because a lot of people are overlooking him.
“He’s an underdog but this might be the fight that he needs to make him that star that he wants to be.”
Garcia-Benn is expected to take place on Saturday, September 12, in Las Vegas, as per a recent announcement by Garcia, however there has been no official word from the promotion.