Conor Benn Dodges a “Boring” Haney to Chase a “Boring” Shakur
Oh, how quickly the tune changes. Following his November 15 rematch win over rival Chris Eubank Jr., Conor “The Destroyer” Benn and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, were loudly proclaiming a willingness to fight anyone at 147 — no hesitation, no qualifiers, no exceptions. However, he has since recanted following WBO welterweight champion Devin Haney’s victory over Brian Norman Jr. Yet, bewilderingly, Benn is sidelining his key criticism of Haney to pursue WBC lightweight champion Shakur “Fearless” Stevenson.
The Destroyer was in attendance to watch Haney win a title in a third division over Norman Jr.. But when asked afterward about facing Haney, the tone shifted. Instead of embracing the challenge, they brushed him off as “boring” and immediately pivoted toward a matchup with WBC champion Mario Barrios.
Naturally, fans and pundits raised an eyebrow. After a week of chest-thumping confidence, the sudden hedging and excuse-making look like clear backpedaling. To make things even worse, Benn has admitted that a fight against Fearless could happen in 2026.
Calling Haney boring and a mover that’s scared to engage is one thing. Compounding that with then fighting Stevenson, who has been accused of doing the same thing, is hard to interpret as anything other than blatant double-dealing. If you claim you’ll fight anyone, you shouldn’t clam up when “anyone” actually calls your bluff.
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