Amir Khan reacts to Conor Benn calling him out: “Maybe if he had some belts”

By Boxing News - 04/11/2021 - Comments

By Charles Brun: Amir Khan responded on social media on Sunday to being called out by Conor Benn, and he said he has nothing to offer him in terms of world titles. If Benn (18-0, 12 KOs) had a world title in his possession, Khan (34-5, 21 KOs) says the fight would “make sense,” but he doesn’t.

Benn’s first-round quick first-round knockout win over Samuel Vargas (31-7-2, 14 KOs) last Saturday night at the Copper Box Arena in London, England, seemed to plant ideas into his head that he’s ready to take on well-known fighters like Khan.

The victory for Benn wasn’t as great as he’s making it out to be, seeing that the referee Michael Alexander prematurely stopped the fight while Vargas covered up on the ropes.

Conor’s fight was stopped too quickly

Benn threw one brief flurry of punches in the first round, and the referee dove in and stopped the fight out of the blue. It was disappointing to a lot of boxing fans, many of which complained angrily.

The question is, if Vargas was the one throwing the punches, would the fight wouldn’t have been stopped? It’s difficult to imagine the referee stopping the fight if Benn, the A-side, was the one on the receiving end of the punches.

Image: Amir Khan reacts to Conor Benn calling him out: "Maybe if he had some belts"

Charles Brun isn’t the least surprised that Khan isn’t excited about the idea of fighting Benn, as he’s looking for a big payday against Kell Brook. Being used as a stepping stone for Benn clearly isn’t on Khan’s agenda, who is somewhat popular at this late stage of his career.

Yeah, Khan obviously frittered away the best years of his career by not taking the Brook fight when it would have paid him a lot of money. Still, he did alright for himself, making loads of dough against Canelo Alvarez, Danny Garcia, and Terence Crawford.

Not only did Benn call out Khan, but he also called out Shawn Porter and Adrien Broner. Neither of those guys would have any interest in fighting Benn, as he has nothing to offer them as well. Conor is NOT a world champion, and he’s not popular enough for Broner or Porter to make a bundle of dough fighting him.

Unless Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn wants to overpay Broner or Porter to take the fight with Benn for two to three million, it’s not going to happen.

Khan NOT interested in Benn fight

What’s hard to understand is why didn’t Benn call out other fighters besides Khan, Porter, and Broner?

There are many guys that Benn could have called out that would have given him more attention in the boxing world than calling out faded fighters like Khan and Broner.

“Give me Amir Khan,” said Benn in calling out Khan. “If he wants it, he can have it. I can deal with pressure. And I can cope with it. I can live with it, no problem.

“I’m ready for the top dogs – Shawn Porter, Adrien Broner? Forget the word prospect, I ain’t a prospect no more.”

I don’t want to burst Benn’s bubble, but Khan and Broner don’t qualify as being among the “top dogs” in the welterweight division.

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Yeah, Porter is one of the top dogs, but Errol Spence recently beat him, and he’s done nothing since other than defeating a weak fringe contender Sebastian Formella.

These are the top dogs at welterweight:

  • Errol Spence Jr
  • Vergil Ortiz Jr
  • Terence Crawford
  • Shawn Porter
  • Jaron Ennis
  • Keith Thurman
  • Danny Garcia
  • Manny Pacquiao
  • David Avanesyan

It would be impressive if Benn started calling out some of those fighters, particularly Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr.

There’s a better than even chance that if Benn calls out Ennis and Ortiz, those two guys will agree to the fight immediately. But it’s safe to say Benn WON’T call out Ennis and Ortiz, and the reason is obvious.

Those are higher caliber fighters than him, and he wouldn’t be able to count on a premature stoppage like we saw last Saturday.