with a victory Chris Eubank Jr. Now in his record, Connor Benn Attention is being turned to the opportunity for a first world title.

He scored a lopsided victory in November After a decades-long rivalry with Eubank Jr. and his father, Chris Benn Sr.’s middleweight career appears to be over. In a move that is both revenge and redemption for the family, the 29-year-old Benn will return to the welterweight division – he has not competed at welterweight since defeating Chris Van Heerden in April 2022.

Benn has been named the WBC welterweight mandatory challenger despite fighting at 160 pounds in 2025. The title is currently held by Mario Barrios, who is rumored to defend the belt against Ryan Garcia in February.

Benn will target winner, his promoter Eddie Hearn confirms ring Garcia is the preferred opponent if he fights Barrios, ideally during the Cinco de Mayo weekend.

“Ultimately, that’s what we want. Conor is mandatory for the winner of that game, so we know we’re going to get it. It’s just a matter of whether the date suits everyone. His Excellency (Turki Arasheh) had a very vague conversation with us. He liked the idea of ​​that game.”

Benn’s fierce rivalry with Eubank Jr attracted more than 100,000 fans to two fights in April and November, and Hearn believes British supporters will once again travel to the United States to watch Benn’s first world title fight.

“We know we’re bringing thousands of Brits to Las Vegas and hopefully Ryan can get through it and we can get this fight. I think it’s a big fight. I think it’s two guys with huge name recognition, two guys that are very exciting. So let’s see what happens between Ryan and Barrios, and Conor is waiting, ready to go.”

Garcia He has since used his social media channels to reveal that he has signed a contract to fight Barrios, although no official announcement has been made yet.