Conor Benn eyes WBC welterweight title shot after being made No. 1 challenger

By Canadian Press on December 2, 2025.

LONDON (AP) — Conor Benn announced he has been made the No. 1 challenger for the WBC welterweight world title held by Mario Barrios.

The 29-year-old London native moved up three spots in the rankings, including above Manny Pacquiao.

Barrios is expected to fight Ryan Garcia in February. The challenger recently announced that the title bout was signed.

“Just got the news I’ve been made No. 1 in the WBC rankings, mandatory for the WBC world title,” Benn said Tuesday in a social media post.

“I’ll be watching Barrios vs. Garcia closely,” he added. “I want the winner early next year. I’ll be coming for that belt and Britain will have a new world champion.”

Barrios retained his belt with a majority draw against the 46-year-old Pacquiao in July.

Benn is coming off a 12-round unanimous decision victory over Chris Eubank Jr. in the middleweight division. It was a rematch of their first fight, which Benn lost in April.

After last month’s win, Benn said he would return to welterweight (147 lbs) to pursue a world title. His father, Nigel Benn, was a WBC champion at super middleweight in the 1990s.

___

AP Boxing: https://apnews.com/hub/boxing

The Associated Press

13
-12