FRESH from defeat in a middleweight tear-up with rival Chris Eubank Jr, continuing their fathers’ legacy, Conor Benn may now aim for a world title and will be encouraged by the latest IBF world rankings update
Not previously ranked at 154lb despite wins over Rodolfo Orozco and Peter Dobson, defeat in his 160lb contest has seen Conor Benn, 23-1 (13 KOs), enter the IBF super-welterweight rankings at #5.
However, ‘The Destroyer’ may have to wait for his shot if he pursues the IBF super-welterweight route to a world title, with champion Bakhram Murtazaliev set to face mandatory challenger Erickson Lubin later this year.
Meanwhile, Sunderland’s Josh Kelly, 16-1-1 (8 KOs), has entered the super-welterweight ratings at #4, one position higher than Benn. Kelly returns to the division to fight Flavius Biea on Friday, June 6 in Newcastle.
Kelly has not fought at super-welterweight since 2023 but was ranked at #6 as a middleweight following his majority-decision win over Ishmael Davis in September 2024 on the Dubois-Joshua card at Wembley Stadium.
Elsewhere, Ireland’s Aaron McKenna, 20-0 (10 KOs), has risen from #15 to #9 in the middleweight rankings following his dominant win over Liam Smith on the Eubank-Benn undercard.
On that same bill, cruiserweight contenders Chris Billam-Smith, 21-2 (13 KOs), defeated Brandon Glanton, while Viddal Riley, 13-0 (7 KOs), beat Cheavon Clarke.
Those wins have seen both men enter the IBF 200lbs ratings, with Billam-Smith back in world title contention at #4 and newly crowned British champion Riley positioned at #15.
Additionally, Ben Whittaker, 9-0-1 (6 KOs), needed just two rounds to silence his doubters in a rematch with Liam Cameron last month, moving from #15 to #12 in the light-heavyweight rankings. Meanwhile, super-middleweight Callum Simpson, 17-0 (12 KOs), has jumped from #10 to #7 ahead of his European title scrap with Italy’s Ivan Zucco next month.
Finally, Richard Riakporhe, 18-1 (14 KOs), made his heavyweight debut on the Canelo-Scull undercard in Riyadh and scored a stoppage victory over Kevin Espindola. That performance has earned him a heavyweight world ranking, entering the IBF ratings at #14.
