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Boxing

Conor Benn gunning for Josh Kelly fight, Chris Kongo puts name forward

Alexander Netherton
Conor Benn gunning for Josh Kelly fight, Chris Kongo puts name forwardDAZN
WBO global welterweight titleholder Chris Kongo believes that he should fight Conor Benn next, after Benn announced he wanted to fight Josh Kelly.

Conor Benn moved on from his win against Sebastian Formella with a fight against Josh Kelly in his sights.

The 24-year-old Briton defeated German boxer Formella at the SSE Arena in London on a unanimous points decision on Saturday.

Speaking after his victory, he told Sky Sports that he wanted to make Kelly his 18th career victim.

"You've got all of these fighters calling me out, I'm only interested in one fight and that's Josh Kelly," Benn said

"That's the only fight I'm interested in. You can forget all these other people calling me out, because they've got loads of Instagram followers. I don't care. If they aren't benefiting me, I don't want it.

"The only big domestic I want is Kelly.

"As for people saying I'm scared and all that, stop talking rubbish. Do I look like a scared fighter?”

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn seemed open to the idea, saying that Kelly would be free after he faces David Avanesyan next year.

Hearn said: "Josh Kelly will fight David Avanesyan in January. If he gets through that test, and Conor will have one more, that is an absolute blockbuster for the summer. It's a massive domestic fight."

In response, Kelly tweeted: "There's one fight on my mind atm a more dangerous one than benn...avanesyan.”

Fellow British welterweight Chris Kongo believes that he is Benn’s natural opponent, and questioned if his rival is scared of his abilities.

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Kongo said: "My name didn't get called out. I was thinking what's going on?

"Me, personally, I think he knows that Josh Kelly is an easier fight. I'm a lot bigger, a lot taller, and stronger. If he can get through Josh Kelly, then he thinks he'll be able to get through me after, but I want to face him first. I'm always willing to fight, so let's get it on.”

Kongo also believes that a Benn vs. Kongo fight would be a popular fight with the British boxing audience.

"A lot of people did say they wanted to see Conor Benn versus Chris Kongo on Twitter. It's there, people want to see the fight, but he wants to keep that quiet,” he claimed.

"Kelly has got to get through his fight with Avanesyan, which is definitely going to be a tough fight. A much harder fight than Formella, so he's got that to worry about, but I'm always willing to step up and fight Conor."