Is a fight I’d like to see next. I know they’re targeting PPV loot and going for a bigger name but this would be a brilliant Saturday fight night - and that’s exactly what level both fighters are at. Josh Kelly is a solid domestic opponent, he’s probably European level even though he came up short against a very good Avenasyan. This is perfect. Let’s see if Benn can overturn Kelly before going on to European level. He’s still a novice, no point jumping levels to grab some money. It’s the perfect fight for Kelly too, he’s coming off a loss and needs to rebuild, Benn has a bit of a profile now and riding the momentum wave. It would be a solid result for either fighter and even the loser could go on and still build a decent career. Look at Joe Smith Jr last night. World champion with multiple loses on his record.
It crazy to think but Benn would KO Kelly in a similar fashion to Aveneseyan imo. He would get outboxed but get to him after a few rounds and stop him.
If Kelly stays out of trouble for the first few rounds this could get interesting, I'd like to see what these two have left in the tank in the final third of a 12 rounder.
Benn did 10 with ease against Formella, granted it was avery limited opponent but Benn kept a good pace for the full 10.
Good point, Kelly seems to be a bit more active in the ring, that of course sees him gas too. I think a fight between these two could come down to conditioning
Kelly would need to get rid of him early. The longer the fight goes the better it is for Benn. I don’t see Kelly @ 147 again though.
A good question on this would be why has Eddie made no suggestion of Benn vs Avaneseyan? If Benn is at that level, why not get him in there?
He has, a few people including Conor himself have mentioned it, after Avanesyan beat Kelly they all said if Conor came through his next fight then why not fight for the European title against Avanesyan.. The problem they have is Avanesyan is legit, he is real, he is arguably at his best right now, Vargas and Formella while step ups for Benn are not Avanesyan. They have a good thing going here and will want to keep it going, beating the ghosts/shells of fighters with either a "name" or history of mixing it a high level. Conor has been going around for months saying "I've beaten a formerly world champion.." and he means Formella who held a IBO title. Father Nigel mentioned Porter last night, it won't happen, but it's promotion, mention bigger names and then fight a couple of levels below that against old names. This is the game, so now they want a worn, old, shot Khan or Brook, or they might even go with somebody like 39 year old Luis Collazo. I'll be amazed if they go after Avanesyan, Benn last night was calling out Khan and it said all we need to know right now.
My guess is Avanesyan is not being talked about for Conor Benn is they couldn’t hype it into a PPV and it’s a dangerous fight ! Porter might be more dangerous but that could make PPV , the fight with moderate risk and high rewards would be Khan !
I always forget he’s still only 24, great future ahead if handled correctly. I don’t have a problem with Benn fighting guys that have taken world champions the distance like his last two opponents for awhile.
Haha I was thinking Paulie Malinaggi but Luis Collazo did cross my mind as well haha we know it'll happen.