The weekend witnessed some statement performances on both sides of the pond from two rising welterweight stars.
Over in Connecticut Jaron Ennis inflicted the second defeat of Sergey Lipinets’ career knocking him out in the sixth round in an impressive performance that has fans tipping him as a future world champion.
In England Conor Benn demolished Samuel Vargas in less than two minutes to give him the biggest win of his career. The demolition job sets up an exciting future for the Essex fighter and promoter Eddie Hearn believes the 24-year-old will be a pay-per-view star sooner rather than later.
A fight that would likely end up on Sky Sports Box Office is Benn versus former super lightweight champion Amir Khan. Benn called out the Olympic medallist, who beat Vargas in 2018, straight after his 18th win declaring he wants a fight that will test him.
Khan, who will be 35 in December, hasn’t fought since July 2019 stopping Billy Dib in the fourth round of their bout in Saudi Arabia. The former world welterweight and middleweight title challenger responded to Benn’s call-out and seemingly dismissed any prospect of a fight in the future.
“Conor well done. Great kid, wish him the best. At his age I was a world champ. Maybe if he had some belts that fight would make sense but he’s got a long way to go yet.”
Khan has recently made comments that like to fight long-term rival Kell Brook. Both men are nearing the end of their careers but it remains to be seen if that fight will ever be made after years of a will they won’t they saga. Could Khan be financially tempted to fight the up and coming Benn?