Conor Benn Was Reluctant To Say My Name Because He Wants An Easier Fight With Josh Kelly Says Chris Kongo | Boxing news

Chris Kongo on Conor Benn: “People want to see the fight, but he wants to keep silent.” The British rival called Josh Kelly after his points win over Sebastian Formella at the weekend

Chris Kongo says Conor Benn was reluctant to fuel their rivalry because he wants an “easier fight” against Josh Kelly.

Benn insisted Kelly was the “only fight” he was interested in after last Saturday’s points win over Sebastian Formella at the SSE Arena, Wembley.

But Kongo believes Benn is fully aware of the threat he poses and doesn’t want to increase public demand for a welterweight showdown.

Kongo said Sky Sports: “My name hasn’t been called. Was I thinking what’s going on?

“Personally, I think he knows Josh Kelly is an easier fight. I’m much bigger, much taller and stronger. If he can get past Josh Kelly then he thinks he’ll be able to get past me later, but first I want to deal with it. , I’m always willing to fight, so let’s move on.

“A lot of people said they wanted to see Conor Benn versus Chris Kongo on Twitter. He’s there, people want to see the fight, but he wants to shut up.

“Kelly has to get through his fight with Avanesyan, which is sure to be a tough fight. A much tougher fight than Formella, so he has this to worry about, but I’m always willing to step up and fight Conor.”

Benn defeated Formella by a broad unanimous decision, matching the performance of former American world champion Shawn Porter, who produced a similar result against the German.

But Kongo wondered if Formella punched hard enough to truly disturb Benn and is confident he would produce a more ruthless performance against the same opponent.

“It was a good fight, so firstly I want to say well done to Conor Benn, he boxed well and took the win,” said the South Londoner.

“Formella, he’s an average fighter, he’s kind of elementary. I saw some highlights of him when he fought Shawn Porter and Porter bullied him.

“Conor Benn did the same thing and obviously Formella doesn’t really have the power to hurt anyone in the division, but if it were me [against Benn] I know it would be a different story and it would definitely be a different fight.

“I would have pulled Formella out of there. I would have put my punches together, as I usually do. I think I punch harder than Conor Benn, and I would have pulled him out of there.”

The undefeated 27-year-old was frustrated in his attempts to take on Liam Taylor, despite the fight being ordered as a British title eliminator by the British Boxing Board of Control.

But Kongo is still hoping for another explosive win next month following his clinical knockout of Luther Clay in the summer.

“Next for me is December 4,” Kongo said. “I am only confirming an opponent at the moment, so we will start to decrease from Wednesday and we will be ready to return.

“You’ll see something equally destructive, maybe even before round nine, but we’ll see. It all depends on who they bring. Liam Taylor definitely avoided the fight. He didn’t want that, so we’re looking at other opponents now.

“The welterweight division is heating up with people like me, Conor Benn, Josh Kelly, Chris Jenkins, Ekow Essuman.