Conor Benn remains eligible to face the winner of Manny Pacquiao vs Mario Barrios welterweight world title fight.
Next month, Barrios is set to make the second defence of his WBC welterweight world title against returning Hall of Famer Pacquiao on July 19 in Las Vegas.
Benn, meanwhile, is set to have a rematch with Chris Eubank Jr after losing to him earlier in the year at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
That will be at middleweight and it’s been confirmed the fact he lost to Eubank Jr in a different weight class won’t affect his eligibility.
The World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman confirmed to Sky Sports: “He is ranked by the WBC, Eubank also is ranked by the WBC, different weight categories. It is up to him [Benn].
“Right now if he’s doing a rematch, then he’s not going to challenge for the WBC for some time but he’s eligible.
“Sensational fighter, great story, he came up in weight, gave advantage, tremendous fight.”
Sulaiman added: “His father was a proud WBC champion so it’s overall a beautiful story.”
Benn returned in April having been suspended after an adverse finding in a drug test, the 28-year-old was cleared to box in the UK and returned to fight at 160lbs.
‘The Destroyer’, though, hasn’t actually boxed at welterweight since 2022 when he knocked out Chris van Heerden and the WBC have him third in their rankings at 147lbs.
Sulaiman added: “He lost in middleweight, outside of his division in a highly competitive dramatic, great fight so he is absolutely ranked in a high place.
“The WBC rankings are by merit. There are fighters who lose a fight and still can advance in the rankings.
Benn’s fight with Eubank Jr was a spectacular 12-round bout that cemented Benn’s return to the ring on home turfGetty“Let’s say hypothetically No.14 in the rankings challenges for the world title and he has a tremendous performance against a champion, drops him and it’s a close fight, he would go from 14 higher even though he lost.”
Having lost to Chris Eubank Jr at middleweight the first time around, Benn will be aiming for the win.
But even another loss won’t damage his chances too much.
WBC’s Sulaiman explained: “Usually people would think you lose, you go down in the rankings but it’s not the case.”
“[Benn] is right there. He’s No.3 ranked, right at the top. He has all the merits and he has the level to bid for the WBC title at any stage,” he continued.
“If he doesn’t fight the rematch and he’s available and ready, then that could be one of the great fights of this year.”
The tentatively scheduled date for the anticipated rematch for Eubank and Benn at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was September 27.
After the Premier League fixtures were released, though, that weekend is now unavailable as Spurs will be hosting Wolves.
Two new dates are in consideration for Eubank Benn 2, with September 20 and October 4 looking to be likely options.
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