CONOR BENN wants Yordenis Ugas for breakfast after getting caught snubbing the rival welterweight champion for dinner.
The 25-year-old Spanish-speaking son of ring legend Nigel has to handle his latest step up against Chris van Heerden on Saturday in Manchester first.
Conor Benn has revealed he snubbed a dinner date with Yordenis Ugas
And if he comes through the latest challenge, he wants to bite a chunk out of his Cuban friend and WBA champ — if he wins his own battle with Errol Spence on Saturday.
The undefeated Benn said: “When I was out in Las Vegas recently we tried to arrange sparring with Ugas, because me and Ugas speak. He kept saying we would spar but he knows the score and knows what was going on.
“He invited me out for dinner with him and his missus. I thought, ‘That’s a bit odd’.
“It’s not like we are from the same country or live the same lifestyle so I was thinking ‘Why does he want me to go to dinner?’ What are we going to do? Sit there and stare at each other?’
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“I told him I was busy but – as I was walking through the casino – I saw him and his missus having food and I went over to say hello and thought ‘That couldn’t have gone anymore awkward really’.
“We didn’t get to spar but I would love to do it for real though.”
South African leftie van Heerden will be Benn’s first professional southpaw opponent and ideal preparation for the winner of Spence vs Ugas.
And Benn has already done hours of hard work in the gym to prepare for the awkward challenge of a back-to-front boxer.
“I’ve done a lot of southpaw sparring and I love challenges,” he said. “I love overcoming them.
“I think I have shown in my last few performances that I can beat any style put in front of me.
“All southpaws are hard work, they are completely different. It’s all back to front really. But I’m finding a home for my shots.
“I think I fill van Heerden in, to be honest.”
Five years ago, after a controversial points win over French kickboxer Cedrick Peynard, Benn was written off as a gimmick with a short shelf life.
Now he is on the cusp of a big-money world title shot and has some critics complaining that 28-2-1 van Heerden, 34, is too easy a task for the Brit banger.
But the growing expectation is greedily welcomed by the second-generation slugger, who said: “I feel like I’m built for this. It’s just the way I am.
“I always deliver and I always rise to the occasion. That pressure doesn’t fall on me so much.
“The fact that we are so close to reaching that goal we set out to six years ago, it makes me work even harder and challenge myself and push myself even more.
“It’s six years of hard work, not just 12 weeks of training camp.”
Conor Benn is back in action on Saturday in Manchester
