Promoter Frank Warren wants to set up fights between middleweight contenders Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Zach Parker and welterweights Conor Benn and David Avaneysan.
Warren says he likes the idea of the 32-year-old Eubank Jr. (32-2, 23 KOs) battling the undefeated #1 WBO super middleweight contender Zach Parker (22-0, 16 KOs).
#1 WBA 160-lb mandatory contender Eubank Jr. is in a holding pattern at middleweight, waiting for a title shot against the winner of the Gennadiy Golovkin vs. Ryota Murata unification fight. Those two are expected to fight in May.
As for unbeaten Conor Benn (20-0, 13 KOs), Warren wants him to take on #3 WBC, #6 WBO David Avanesyan (28-3-1, 16 KOs) next, and he feels the fight will attract a lot of attention.
Avanesyan is defending his EBU welterweight title next month against Oskari Metz (15-0, 5 KOs) on March 19th at the Wembley Arena in London, England.
Eubank Jr. couldn’t finish Williams
“He just didn’t get into it, did he? In the first three rounds the fight was just what it was,” said Frank Warren to iFL TV on Chris Eubank Jr’s win over Liam Williams.
“It was a surprise. He was down with a couple of jabs, didn’t he? He just never got back into it,” Warren said of Liam. “He tried, kept working throughout the fight, and took the fight to him, but he was behind on the scorecards.
“I was quite disappointed, to be honest, with Chris Eubank, because all this nonsense about he held him up. He didn’t hold him up in my opinion. He couldn’t finish him off.
“Well, they weren’t,” said Warren when asked for his reaction to Eubank Jr. telling Matthew Macklin that his scorecards for the fight were a disgrace.
“I think Matthew was right. I tell you what. I would have loved to have seen him [Eubank Jr] and Matthew fighting each other in their prime. I know where I’d have my money on.
“Look, Matthew is there, he works for Sky, he’s an independent guy and he said what he felt and that’s it,” Warren said.
Eubank Jr was clearly trying to score a knockout of Liam Williams, but he couldn’t put him away due to his inability to lead on the front foot in their fight on February 5th.
Virtually all of Eubank Jr’s success in that fight came from his ability to catch Williams with left hook counters and stiff jabs.
Warren wants Eubank Jr. to fight Zach Parker
Cut through all the bull s***. Chris, if you want a proper fight, why don’t you fight Zach Parker if you’ve got the balls to step up and do that?
“Or are you going to do what you always do and avoid people like you did with the rematch with Billy Joe Saunders forever because that’s what you do?
“The next generation, you’re 32 years of age, son,” said Warren about Eubank Jr. “Your dad had retired at that age and had 24 world title fights, and you’re the next generation. God knows what generation I am in. I’m generation X or whatever it is.
“If they have a rematch they have a rematch,” said Warren in reacting to being told that Billy Joe Saunder is interested in a rematch with Eubank Jr. for five million pounds.
“Listen, I’ve got to tell you something. Zach Parker, there ain’t no one in this country that can beat him. It’s a big statement. We put our money where our mouth is. No British super middleweight will beat him. If you want to earn some decent money come see us and we’ll put it on,” said Warren about wanting Eubank Jr. to fight the unbeaten Parker.
Eubank Jr. has accomplished much less in his career than his famous dad did at a similar age, and it’s a given that he’s going to fall well short of what he did.
Parker fights at 168, and it’s unlikely Eubank Jr. will be willing to entertain the idea of moving back up in weight to his old weight class for this fight.
Zach is expected to fight Demetrius Andrade for the interim WBO 168-lb title next.
Conor Benn should fight David Avanesyan
“Obviously, the history of the family names and so forth, and I get that, but it’s a bit of weight disparity, isn’t there?” said Warren about welterweight Conor Benn showing interest in fighting Eubank Jr.
“Who knows? Conor Benn, I mean, he wants another big fight. There’s a couple of big fights there for him to have with old David [Avanesyan] our man or fight [Ekow] Essuman. There are two good fights for him.
“It’s a really lively division. They call each other out, but we should get the fights that matter and let the best fight the best. Yeah, fight each other,” said Warren about him wanting Conor Benn to fight David Avanesyan.
“Do it next, no problem with us. Do it next, let’s do it. I agree with you. Let’s do that fight. It’s what I want. I want those two to fight. I agree with the fans. Let those two fight each other.
“Why shouldn’t they fight? On Monday morning, Matchroom, I’ve said this a million times. First of all, we said we’ll pay for him. I said I’ll pay for David to do the fight. Two envelopes on the table. Whoever gets it, the fights [Benn vs. Avanesyan] on the app [DAZN] or the fights on BT.
“I’m a promoter. That’s a fight the fans will buy into. It brings eyeballs, and if eyeballs are on David fighting Conor Benn and he beats Conor Benn because I fancy him to beat him, it makes him an even bigger name, which makes his earning capacity even better.
“It’s great business sense, and it’s logical. It’s logical for me, but not for anyone else,” said Warren.
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has already said that he’s planning on having Conor Benn fight 34-year-old Chris van Heerden next in April.
Hearn is still holding out hope that Adrien Broner or another opponent will agree to the fight with the 25-year-old Benn. But if not, van Heerden will be the guy.
Avanesyan is too advanced of an opponent compared to the guys that Hearn has been matching Benn against, and I don’t think it’s realistic that he’s going to make this fight.
Assuming the Benn-van Heerden fight happens in April, the former four division world champion Broner will be next for Benn. If not him, it’ll be former WBO 140-lb champion Maurice Hooker.
Hearn is focusing on matching Benn against older fighters that are well known to the hardcore boxing fans if not the casuals, but not a threat to beating Conor.
