After months of potential talks, the idea of Conor Benn facing Manny Pacquiao is becoming much closer to reality, at least, according to the head honcho of Matchroom Boxing, Eddie Hearn.
Hearn, who promotes, Conor Benn, has seen Benn sidelined after testing positive for a banned substance, twice prior to his pay-per-view fight with Chris Eubank Jr., in October which saw the whole card canceled. All parties involved, from Pacquiao’s advisor, Sean Gibbons, to Hearn, have been waiting out what will happen with Conor Benn’s drug test, but with the WBC reinstating Benn in their rankings, it appears Benn’s return to the sport is near.
So the mythological fight between legend Manny Pacquiao and Conor Benn, now seems closer to fact than fiction, with Boxing Scene reporting that Benn will be headlining a card on June 3rd from Abu Dhabi. Now we have to see if the opponent will in fact be Manny Pacquiao.
“Manny is looking to return to the ring for exhibitions and real fights, but the consensus between all parties is that until Conor Benn gets a green light from the WBC or whatever party is overseeing this investigation on the suspension until he is completely cleared nobody really wants to talk about it,” Sean Gibbons stated to iD Boxing, prior to Benn being placed back in the WBC rankings. “There’s a potential for sure if Conor Benn is clear. If not we would’ve loved to have fought [retired welterweight champion] Kell Brook, who I see is talking about wanting to do one more [fight]. In general, Manny is happy. He wants to do some exhibitions, he still feels he’s got stuff for the fans.”
Benn is not able to compete in the United Kingdom because he can not obtain a license from the British Boxing Board of Control. So that might also explain why Saudi Arabia might be the most suitable option for this event, as Benn would need to obtain a license in order to compete in the U.K., again.
"Manny is an all-time great and he feels like he still has a lot of fight left in him and he still wants to compete at the highest level,” said Sean Gibbons to Mike Coppinger of ESPN.com, last week. “…this fight [against Conor Benn] was presented to him by [promoter] Eddie Hearn, and he agreed. [The] Ball is in Eddie Hearn's court. Pacquiao ready to go."
