Conor Benn has opened the door to a crossover boxing fight with UFC legend Conor McGregor. The 30-year-old has been taking time away from the ring after he was stopped by Ryan Garcia in the second round of their world title fight last month.
Benn now faces an uncertain future in the sport and plans to spend time with his family before returning to competitive action. He has no plans to drop back down to 147lb as he assesses his options going forward.
Interest in McGregor clash
Several within the boxing community have suggested Benn take on McGregor in a crossover contest. A fake poster of the fight was posted on social media, and Benn shared it, responding with: "Any day of the week."
The proposed clash would take place next year. Both fighters are under contract with UFC president Dana White, who has repeatedly shut down UFC fighters moving to his Zuffa Boxing promotion while under contract.
McGregor's return
McGregor is no stranger to boxing, having faced Floyd Mayweather in 2017 in one of the highest-selling pay-per-view events of all time. The 38-year-old has one fight left on his UFC contract after ending a five-year hiatus in July when he took on Max Holloway.
His comeback ended in defeat after he injured his knee seconds into the contest in Las Vegas. McGregor later revealed he tore his ACL and faces a year out, but has vowed to return after surgery.
Groves backs the bout
Boxing icon George Groves believes the fight makes sense for Benn. He told Grosvenor Sport: "It would be wise for Conor Benn to concentrate on crossover fights. They can put him in with other marquee names in boxing, but he might end up with the same result he got against Garcia. He will become accustomed to the purses he’s been paid, so he’s got to find opponents that meet that criteria and there aren’t a lot of them."
"Conor McGregor, maybe. That would be much more logical than him fighting Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney or even Teofimo Lopez, any of those good, top, solid fighters around those weight divisions. He says he’s not going to do 147 again, so he’s going to be looking to come up. There just aren’t really the names there. They’re probably looking at influencer fights and crossover fights. Conor McGregor against Conor Benn, two Conors. It makes sense."
A potential 2027 showdown with Benn could be on the cards, with Benn previously expressing interest in a trilogy fight with long-time rival Chris Eubank Jr before his clash with Garcia.
