Boxing Legend Roy Jones Jr. Proposes Surprise Opponent For Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor's return to the Octagon lasted barely a minute. Following the grand failure of the overhyped matchup,  now the conversation around his next fight has shifted somewhere nobody quite expected. A boxing legend has floated an opponent for him, and it's not another mixed martial artist. His name is Conor Benn, a welterweight who is also picking up the pieces after a brutal weekend loss. Two fighters, same first name, same rough year. Considering the situation both the boxers are entangled in, boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. proposes an ideal fight for McGregor's potential boxing return in the near future.

Boxing Legend Gives Conor McGregor an Ideal Opponent in His Potential Boxing Return

Conor McGregor has not fought since UFC 329 in July, when a torn ACL ended his welterweight clash with Max Holloway just seconds after it started. The injury has kept him out of action since, and talk of his eventual comeback has mostly centered on a return to the cage. Roy Jones Jr. sees it differently.

The Hall of Fame boxer believes McGregor makes more sense for Benn than another run at the sport's biggest punchers. Benn was stopped in the second round by Ryan Garcia last weekend in a one-sided beating, and Jones Jr. thinks a fight against McGregor would suit him far better than chasing another world title shot.

"A Conor McGregor fight would be a lot more in Conor Benn's lane," Jones Jr. told Parimatch Slots Site. "I think if I had my dream wish for Conor Benn, it would be to fight Conor McGregor, and then to finish off with Chris Eubank and call it a day. That's two big-time multimillion-dollar fights," he added.

Jones Jr. laid out what he called his dream path for Benn. Fight McGregor, then close things out against Chris Eubank Jr, and walk away. Two paydays worth millions, he argued, would let Zuffa Boxing recoup what it has invested in Benn and let everyone involved finish on their own terms. Skip that route, he warned, and Benn is signing up for more one-sided nights against bigger names, simply because the sport keeps demanding fighters chase the biggest available check.

What's Going on With Conor Benn?

Benn's loss to Garcia was quite heavy. The WBC welterweight champion picked him apart before ending it in round two, a result that has left the 29-year-old at a genuine crossroads. Benn had dropped more than 30 pounds just to make the weight for that fight, chasing his first world title, and it did not pay off.

He has not gone quiet, though. An Instagram post this week suggested his career is far from finished, and that another fight is already in the works.

Denzel Bentley, the newly minted WBO middleweight champion, has proposed a title shot at 160 pounds, betting that Benn's name value outweighs the fact he has not technically earned it. Bentley was candid about his own motives.

"I've never had any beef with Conor, we've always been cool," Bentley said.

He was just as honest about the business side, admitting that Benn's profile lets him skip ahead in line and that the fight would be financially worthwhile for the champion too. Bentley did add a note of caution, though. He wants Benn to take real time away before stepping back into a gym, pointing to the toll the weight cut likely took and the psychological weight of a fast knockout loss. As a natural middleweight with an 81.8 percent knockout rate, Bentley is not exactly a soft landing spot either.