CONOR BENN has hit back at his critics and opened up on those who doubted he could even make it past English title level.
The son of British boxing legend Nigel is now 18-0 and coming off a career-best win by blasting out experienced campaigner Samuel Vargas in 80 seconds.
Afterwards, the welterweight called out former champions Amir Khan, 34, Shawn Porter, 33, and Adrien Broner, 31, in an intense post-fight interview.
And Benn revealed his attitude is driven by proving wrong the ones who constantly put questions marks on his career.
He told iFL TV: “You’ve got to remember for my whole career it was, ‘You’re not even gonna make it past English level, you’re not gonna get past Southern Area, you’re not going to do this, you’re living off your dad’s name.’
“So it’s like, ‘Yeah, well what now? What to you lot?’ So you sort of get your back up, I sort of get really… as a young kid, at 19 I had to constantly see that.
“You know, ‘You’re living off your dad’s name. You wouldn’t make it. You’re a small hall fighter’ and all that.
“You hear all these things constantly, constantly. And you say it don’t affect you, it does come to you in different ways.”
Benn, 24, is looking to return by July with a possible trip Stateside, where he will also spend time training.
And he has plotted a path to an interim world title before the end of the year, with the WBA’s currently vacant.
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Benn said: “We’ll have one more fight and then look at interims and look at what opportunities there are at the end of the year.
“But my next fight will put me high up in the rankings, that’s for sure.”
Benn, like throughout the majority of his career, has received several callouts from domestic challengers.
But he warned Josh Kelly – recently beaten by European champ David Avanesyan – is the only name on these shores he would have considered fighting.
Benn explained: “The only British fighter that made sense for me was the Kelly fight.
“I don’t think there is anyone else in the UK that is better than me in Britain, and I believe that.
“Based on who I’ve been sparring, based on who I’ve been mixing it with, and based on who I’ve been giving a feeling to in sparring with 18-ounce gloves.
“So, I know I’m the best fighter in Britain, and the rankings show that.
“People can say what they want, but the rankings don’t lie; the numbers don’t lie. I do heavyweight numbers on Sky; the numbers don’t lie.
“There’s never a dull Conor Benn fight; I’m No1 in the rankings and No2 in Europe.
“So people can say what they want. You don’t get these rankings in the governing bodies for nothing.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
