Stevie McKenna confident he’d ‘take out WEE Conor Benn’

Towering at 6ft 1in and undefeated in eight fights all by KO, Irish welterweight Hitman Stevie McKenna [8(8)-0] has warned target Conor Benn [18(12)-0] that he’ll be too big and strong for the “wee” Brit if and when they fight.

Speaking to Ali Drew for on Hennessy Sports’ YouTube Channel, McKenna, who is due back out on Channel 5 in May, says that he’d be major threat to Benn.

‘The Hitman’claims the Matchroom star knows that the County Monaghan terror is too powerful and thus does not fancy the fight.

Unbeaten McKenna has caused a stir since his pro debut with eight stunning stoppages, five have been wiped out in the opening round and only one has made it into the fifth, but now that the 24-year-old has moved up to the 147-pound ranks, he believes he will be an even more devastating force.

McKenna said, “I’m building into a big strong 147, I’m six foot one, I’ll fill into a massive 147. I was big for 140 so coming up for 147 I feel a lot stronger and working on my power punching. It’s going to be exciting at 147, there’s a lot of names out there that I’d be after. As you know Conor Benn’s one of them, I’d love to get him into the ring, if he’ll get into the ring with me. I don’t think he’d want it.”

“He knows, he knows I’m too big too and strong for him. I’d have no problem taking Conor Benn out of there. I’d fight him in the morning. Conor Benn’s really only a wee small super-lightweight. He’s not a 147, he’s very small, I’m too strong and big for him,” he adds before laying out his 12 month game plan.

“The 147 is a strong division at the moment and in the next two years I want to be up there winning a world title and be up there with them names. Hopefully next year we’ll get big fights and get Connor Benn next summer. It’s a fight that the fans in the UK and Ireland would love to see and it would be a big fight. We need big fights back in Ireland as well and it could happen there and in the UK the fans would love to see it,”

In the wide-ranging interview, McKenna talks about his recent sparring trip to England with Robbie Davies Jr.; sparring with brother Aaron and becoming joint World Champions; aiming to become Irish boxing’s next big star; his increased popularity since fighting live on Channel 5; fighting the best in the 147-pound division; the winner of the super-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Errol Spence and his new found love of horse riding and much more.