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Josh Kelly doesn’t see Conor Benn as a serious challenger for his newly won world title but he will accept the fight at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light.
Kelly defeated Bahram Murtazaliyev to win the IBF super welterweight title and become Sunderland’s first boxing world champion.
He now wants to bring about a big fight at the Stadium of Light in his hometown.
“It will be surreal to come to the Stadium of Light and play. The support I get when I step onto the pitch is crazy,” Kelly told sky sports.
“They’re not fans, they’re like friends and family. I’m overwhelmed.”
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Check out Josh Kelly’s most devastating knockouts and flashy tricks from early in his career.
Conor Benn will be the most compelling British opponent in Kelly’s weight division.
“It could happen. I don’t think it will, because I think he’s chasing fantasy fights, win-win fights, where he punches Shakur (Stevenson) or someone he shouldn’t win, and if he loses, his value isn’t going to go down that much, commercially anyway,” Kelly said.
“But if he wants to fight for a world title, I think my business value is as good as the best of them. He can fight me and get a lot of money for it.
“The Stadium of Light is going to bounce.”
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Speaking on the Sky Stadium Side Toe2Toe Boxing Podcast, coach Joe Gallagher admitted he was confused by Conor Benn’s fight with Shakur Stevenson.
However, Ben was not Kelly’s target. “Champions don’t chase challengers, they chase champions,” he said. “I’m not chasing him.
“Conor Benn has improved a lot since he started but he’s not quite at my level yet.
“He boxed Eubank twice, which was the highest echelon of his career, and Eubank was a shell of a man.”
Kelly continued: “He knew I could hit him hard enough to hurt him. He knew I had the boxing ability and the IQ to give him a real boxing lesson.”
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Conor Benn hopes to fight Ryan Garcia next, assuming the American can defeat Mario Barrios in their upcoming WBC welterweight title fight.
His goal is to become a world champion alongside Xander Zayas, who currently holds the 154-pound WBO and WBA titles and is his preferred opponent.
“I want to try and get more championships, so maybe Zayas can unify. I’d love to. Three belts, unreal,” Kelly said.
“I feel we can give Sunderland a big night but if he wants to stay comfortable and wants to spend time in America and stay in his comfort zone, I’m not worried about traveling.
“What I want more than anything is to host it at the Stadium of Light. That would be a dream come true.
“We can’t have everything we want in the way we want. I’ve got a world title, I’ve got the support of the people in Sunderland, so hopefully I can get back there.
“But if not, we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do to get another win.”
Watch Caroline Dubois vs. Terri Harper bill live sky sports Sunday, April 5
