WBA champion Conor Benn has Sheffield’s Kell Brook in his sights

Best of British: WBA Continental Champion Conor Benn. Picture: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire

Ex-IBF welterweight champion Brook, who hails from Sheffield last fought in November when he suffered a knock-out defeat to Terence Crawford in a WBO welterweight title fight.

Benn has won all 17 of his professional bouts but won’t be overlooking Canadian-Colombian Vargas, despite the lure of a huge domestic bout waiting for him if he goes 18-0 this weekend.

“I made the mistake once of overlooking an opponent and I hit the deck twice,” he said.

Let's get it on: Conor Benn would like to fight former IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook of Sheffield. Picture: Richard Sellers/PA Wire

“I can go back to that fight because it was a career-defining moment for me. I had to ask myself how badly I wanted it.

“It taught me to never overlook an opponent. I thought, ‘what’s he going to do to me?’. Boom, straight one-two. That was a massive reality check for me. Since then I don’t overlook opponents.

“I’m not overlooking Vargas, but what doors open after him? I want a big domestic fight still.

“Someone that I can take that experience off. The Amir Khans, the Kell Brooks. The Josh Kelly fight is still there if he’s still fighting.

“The Amir Khan fight would be one hell of a fight.

“That would be a great British clash.

“Amir Khan was a fighter I looked up to and so was Kell Brook. Why not put me in with one of them after Vargas?”

Benn, 24, hails from Essex and turned in a career-best performance in November to defeat former IBO World Champion Sebastian Formella over ten rounds.

The WBA continental champion anticipates an exciting fight against Vargas, who has won 31 of his 39 fights.

He continued: “This is definitely going to be an entertaining fight for the public.

“This is going to be one that you don’t want to miss.

“This is going to be a stepping stone in my career.

“It’s going to be a massive fight. It’s going to be a great fight.

“It’s going to be a hard fight. I’m going to have to show grit, determination, hunger, skill and power – the full shebang!”

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