Conor Benn eyes winner of welterweight title fight between Paddy Donovan and Lewis Crocker

Independent

3 days ago

Conor Benn could target a welterweight world champion in the near future, according to his promoter Eddie Hearn.
Benn had been expected to face Chris Eubank Jr in a rematch of their epic first fight earlier this year, but the clash will no longer be happening in September.
The second fight with Eubank Jr could now take place in November, but with Benn still waiting on official confirmation, Hearn has revealed he may turn his attention elsewhere.
Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan are due to fight each other for the vacant IBF welterweight title in September, and Hearn has named Benn as a potential opponent for the winner of the all-Irish bout.
'You would always lend yourself to making an in-house fight for a world championship,' Hearn said. 'So in this situation, I think firstly Conor Benn is definitely looking at the winner of this fight and of course Jack Catterall, if he's staying at 147, to look at the winner for a world title.'
Crocker and Donovan will be facing one another for a second time after their first fight ended in controversial circumstances.
Donovan was winning on the scorecards and had his opponent in trouble, but was disqualified for knocking Crocker down heavily after the bell had rung for the end of the eighth round.
He will be seeking revenge when the pair renew their rivalry at Belfast's Windsor Park on September 13.
Hearn feels the victor will have plenty of options for their first title defence, and claimed it could take place in Ireland once again.
'Certainly if Paddy Donovan wins and you start looking at the names in the welterweight division,' Hearn explained. 'Like Ryan Garcia, like Devin Haney, like Shakur Stevenson, Teofimo Lopez, Conor Benn. That's fights that you can go down to Limerick with.
'But we know we're going to do big numbers in Belfast, and that's where we chose to go [for this fight].'
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