By Charles Brun: Manager/matchmaker Carl Greaves was surprised that Conor Benn and the Sky Sports commentary team didn’t mention the name of EBU welterweight champion David Avanesyan after Benn annihilated Samuel Vargas in the first round in London, England.
Greaves didn’t know what to make of it. Benn (18-0, 12 KOs) called out the #1 WBC/WBO contender Shawn Porter and the fading Amir Khan and Adrien Broner but failed to mention Avanesyan’s name entirely.
Although Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn casually said that one option for Conor would be to fight for the EBU 147-lb title, but interestingly, he didn’t mention Avanesyan’s name.
For Hearn not to say Avanesyan’s name when he offered one of the remote options for Benn, it looked like he was someone that is going to be avoided. Avanesyan is the equivalent of the third rail that you don’t dare touch in the subway for Benn.
It’s as if Avaneysan’s name was intentionally not being uttered by Hearn or the Sky team. Was that an accident, or was it on purpose to make sure that Benn, a future pay-per-view attraction for Sky, doesn’t get wiped out by Avanesyan in the same way that Josh Kelly was last February?
Before that fight, Kelly had star potential, but Avanesyan wrecked that dream by demolishing the 2016 Olympian in six bloody rounds at the Wembley Arena in London.
Benn vs. Avanesyan would do big numbers
“Ideally, David [Avanesyan] needs a final eliminator or world title fight,” said manager Carl Greaves to Boxing Social. “If that can’t be delivered, then what next?
“It’s a great name [Benn], and if we can’t get a world title fight, then why not?” said Greaves about Avanesyan taking on Benn.
“I mean, the British public would love that fight; it would do big numbers. It’s a well-talked-about fight after what David did to Josh Kelly, and now Conor Benn is looking.
“Last night, he looked very, very good [against Vargas], and he’s ready for David [Avanesyan] now. Does he want it? I don’t know.
“I’m disappointed that David’s name wasn’t mentioned last night. Not just to fight Conor but in general.
“They mentioned all the top welterweights, but David’s name wasn’t mentioned once, which was disappointing, really.
“What made me laugh is Conor is calling out fighters like Shawn Porter, Broner, but Shawn Porter is #1 in the world with the WBC, David is #6.
“He’ll be #5 now that Danny Garcia is moving up to 154. So if he’s calling out Shawn Porter and names like that, I’m surprised that David didn’t get mentioned,” said Greaves about Avaneysan not being called out by Benn.
There’s no question that a fight between Benn and Avanesyan would do tremendous numbers on DAZN and Sky Box Office.
But if Hearn is worried about Benn’s earning potential being imploded by a knockout loss to Avanesyan, that fight won’t get made.
Does Benn not want to fight Avanesysan?
“So do they not want to risk fighting David?” said Greaves. “It looks that way to me, but we’ll see.
“We’ll see what he [Hearn] comes up with after Conor’s performance. It’s an interesting one because David is promoted by Matchroom as well, and Conor is promoted by Matchroom.
“So if Eddie can deliver fights against Shawn Porter and Broner for Conor, then surely that’s what he [Hearn] should be doing for David because David is a European champion and four back-to-back European title wins, all stoppages.
“.So surely he deserves a high-profile fight more than Conor, and if he [Hearn] can’t deliver, then he should make those two fight. That’s what I would do.
“I know he [Benn] has a lot of respect for David, and he rates him highly, so maybe that,” Greaves said when asked why Benn didn’t call out Avanesyan’s name after his fight with Vargas.
“Maybe he thinks it’s one or two fights too early, but if he’s calling out the likes of Shawn Porter, who is ranked about David and is a more high-profile fighter than David, so surely he should be fighting the likes of David before Shawn Porter.
“It’s just funny that no one on Sky, not one person last night through the old Sky commentary, mentioned David’s name. I can’t believe it.
“Even if he isn’t going to fight Conor, you’d have thought that he would have been mentioned.
“It’s a shame because coming off a big win over Josh Kelly live on Sky Sports and led to believe that he got big viewing figures for that fight, let’s see. David deserves a big fight now,” Greaves said of Avaneysan.
Charles Brun got the impression that Benn wants no part in fighting Avanesyan, and you can understand why.
Benn saw what Avanesyan did to his fellow countryman Josh Kelly, and he probably doesn’t want his future to go down the drain before he’s made his mega-millions.
Khan unlikely to take Benn fight
“It would be a good fight for Conor,” said Greaves about him calling out Amir Khan.
“Amir Khan is at the end of his career now, and it’s a great name for Conor to have on his record, but does Amir Khan want those sort of opponents? I don’t think so.
“I think he wants a high-profile cash-out fight, someone like Kell Brook. Yeah, for Conor Benn, it’s a great fight, a great move.
“But for Amir Khan, I can’t see him taking that fight. It’s a too high risk, low reward type of fight for Amir.
“After last night’s performance, you’d have to make Conor the favorite [over Khan] by a big margin. We don’t know what Amir has got left.
“I mean, he’s a good fighter; he’s not boxed in a couple of years. It’s a long time out of the ring when you’re getting older in the twilight of your career.
“So obviously, you’d have to favor Conor. It’s a great crossroads fight, but it’s one that I don’t think Amir would want unless the money is ridiculous and Eddie can take him into it,” said Greaves.
It’s academic that Khan WON’T be fighting Benn, as he said this week. Khan’s excuse given is that Benn doesn’t have a world title, and that’s a good enough one to pacify the casual boxing fans.
Vergil Ortiz Jr a possibility for Avanesysan
“I know that Vergil Ortiz has been mentioned,” Greaves said about a potential opponent for Avaneysan.
“I spoke to Eddie at the airport in Gibraltar, and he mentioned Vergil Ortiz, and he thought that would be a great fight for David.
“We want a big name now. We want a Broner, Porter, Spence, Pacquiao, those sort of names.
“I truly believe that David deserves that. He’s a name in America. Shawn Porter is a name we’d want.
“What a great fight that would be for a final eliminator for a world title. It’s got to tick all the boxes. David is 32, at his peak at 32. He’s in the best form of his life,” said Greaves of Avanesysan.
At this point, even Vergil Ortiz Jr might not want a piece of Avanesyan. After seeing the problems that Maurice Hooker gave to Ortiz last month, Golden Boy Promotions aren’t going to be in a hurry to match him against Avanesyan.
In a perfect world, Benn would be courageous, and Hearn would show the same display of bravery to make the Avanesyan fight. But with what Avanesyan did to Kelly, it’s not likely that they’re going to wreck the Benn money machine before it starts humming along the tracks.
