Conor Benn has been linked with a who’s who of the welterweight division ever since he settled the score with long-time rival Chris Eubank Jr. Ten days ago, 60,000 fans packed Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to watch Benn (24-1, 14 KOs) outpoint a subdued Eubank Jr. over 12 rounds in their middleweight rematch. With that chapter finally closed, the 29-year-old Londoner has been adamant that his days at 160 pounds are over as he turns his full focus back to 147.
From Tottenham to Riyadh
Last weekend, Benn was ringside in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, watching Devin Haney relieve Brian Norman Jr. of his WBO welterweight title on the “Ring IV: Night of the Champions” card. Haney now joins a growing list of names being mentioned alongside Benn as the Brit maps out his 2026 welterweight campaign.
Potential opponents that have already been floated include:
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WBC champion Mario Barrios
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IBF titleholder Lewis Crocker
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Ryan Garcia
Now you can add another elite name: Shakur Stevenson, The Ring’s No. 1-ranked lightweight and reigning WBC champion.
“If You’re Really About It…”
Stevenson is heavily rumored to be closing in on an early 2026 showdown with The Ring and WBO junior welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez, but that hasn’t stopped him and Benn from entertaining the idea of a future clash. Benn told The Ring he went straight to the source.
“I messaged Shakur, I said, ‘Listen, if you’re really about it. Let’s do it next. I don’t just do the social media thing for bants,’” Benn explained.
“I said we can do that next in April, and he said, ‘Cool. Let me get Teo out the way, we’ll do it in April,’ so you may be seeing me and Shakur next.”
Realistically, if Stevenson does move up to face Lopez and win at 140, then jumps another seven pounds immediately to face Benn at welterweight, the timeline might slip. But the groundwork for a future showdown has clearly been laid.
Benn on Stevenson–Lopez: “A 50/50 Fight”
For now, Benn believes Stevenson has his hands full with Lopez and shouldn’t look past him.
“I think he’s in a hard fight, Teo’s a great fighter,” Benn said. “I think it’ll be a close, 50/50 fight.”
Whether it’s Barrios, Garcia, Crocker, Haney, or eventually Stevenson, one thing is clear: after closing the Eubank chapter at middleweight, Conor Benn intends to make serious noise back at 147 pounds and he wants the biggest names in and around the division to meet him there.
No Haney But Yes Stevenson?
Conor Benn is willing to fight Shakur Stevenson but claims that another defensive fighter with a similar style in Devin Haney is scared of his own shadow. So why does it make sense for him to want to fight a smaller fighter with a similar style? This isn’t adding up at all. Seems like it’s possible that he’s scared to fight Devin Haney because he feels that he can’t beat him.
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Robert LaMar is a writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
