CONOR’S CONUNDRUM

It has been 10 days since Conor Benn put a silencer on 'Pistol' Pete Dobson in Las Vegas, and every subsequent second has been stuffed with serious noise.

If it isn't Gervonta Davis, it’s Errol Spence, or Jarron Ennis, or Devin Haney. The States' big hitters don't seem to have taken at all well to The Dark Destroyer. 

But for Benn it's a brilliant place to be. 

By securing a fight of that enormity, his earnings move north of eight figures. By not, he sits merely as a topic of talk, stretching his own status amongst the hotter circles. 

All of this after 22 rounds in which he hasn’t landed even one decisive shot on an opponent. 

His ring return has, by his previously compelling standards, been fairly underwhelming.

The fact he begins a new week waiting for a response from ‘Tank’ Davis means things seem to be going in the right direction. 

Of course, whether this offer is even entertained is a different matter in itself. 

Eddie Hearn called the offer ‘significant’, but any attempt to disguise specifics was quickly ripped open by Benn’s $15 million suggestion. 

True or not, it will have to be an offer with substance, especially given the fact Tank is coming off the back of a delicious payday against Ryan Garcia last April. Tank himself could do with stepping inside the ropes too. Inactivity, after all, is a fighters' toughest enemy.  

This one is real left-field fight, where disparity not only lies in weight, but in achievement too. 

Benn rehydrated to 170lbs on the morning of his fight with Dobson, and has never sat higher than fifth in any of the governing body rankings. Tank on the other hand, is a natural 130lber, and a three-weight world title belt holder. 

It might have been a painful process, but Benn could well have his plea for innocence to thank for lining him up against one the sport’s biggest names. In his most inactive and least devastating period, Benn has made the majority of his noise. 

Conor’s biggest conundrum, however, is that when the inevitable does come crashing down, he must prepare for what might feel like an anti-climax. 

Because with these A-grade Americans, no one comes close. 

There is the option of Mario Barrios, which could end up being for the WBC interim world title in Benn's favoured 147lb division. There will, however, need to be a real change in MO from Al Haymon and PBC, whose refusal to work outside of their own circle is no secret. 

Domestically, there seems little interest in anyone other than Chris Eubank Jr, who himself seems very trouble-free to work with. 

Whatever happens next, there is no doubt that Benn's 2024 will be one of the biggest on the British calendar. 

Whether any of that is in Britain, well, we will have to wait and see. 

Oscar Bevis 

Check out our latest interviews and subscribe to get a notification when our interviews go live by clicking HERE