Conor Benn's next fight could be a huge moment in his career.
The British star has managed two successive wins following 17 months of inactivity with his latest success coming in February when he beat Peter Dobson in Las Vegas.
Now Benn has been linked with a clash against boxing legend Manny Pacquiao after the pair met in Riyadh during fight week for Anthony Joshua's clash with Francis Ngannou.
While a meeting with Pacquiao would further increase Benn's profile, former world super middleweight champion Carl Froch wants Benn to take an alternative route and challenge for domestic honours before chasing some of boxing's biggest names.
“I don’t think enough fighters now hold the British title in high enough regard, ‘cause that’s how you learn your trade," Froch told Boxing Scene.
“Without winning my British title and defending it three times, against people like Matthew Barney; Tony Dodson; Robin Reid; Brian Magee… Them sort of fights –12 rounders where you’re struggling – get you ready for the fights that I had with Jean Pascal and Jermain Taylor.
“Conor Benn, for example, who’s now saying, ‘I’ll fight Terence Crawford.’ He can’t be jumping in with people like Terence Crawford and expect anybody to take him seriously, because he’s not at that level yet.
“It’s a process. You’ve got to do your apprenticeship, and that almost minimises the British title a little bit by saying it’s an apprenticeship – [but] it is.
“The foundations of becoming a man in the professional game – you go from being a contender to being a serious operator within professional boxing if you can win that British title.”
Live on DAZN: Haney vs. Garcia on April 20. Click here for details.