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Shakur Stevenson<\/a> appreciated Conor Ben<\/a>boxing ability, insisting that in reality the 29-year-old never wanted to fight him as it now appears he must face Ryan Garcia<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n Ben jumped into the ring shortly after Stephenson’s unanimous decision win over Teofimo Lopez in January, giving the impression that he really wanted to face the four-division world champion.<\/p>\n However, according to Stevenson, “The Destroyer” never wanted to entertain a potential matchup between them, which is why he is now pursuing a match with Garcia.<\/p>\n The pair are expected to clash for Garcia’s WBC middleweight title later this year, depending on how Zuffa Boxing handles cease and desist letter from Golden Boy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Oscar De La Hoya’s promotion claims Garcia, who is reportedly still under contract, could not negotiate without their consent.<\/p>\n Benn, however, is intent on earning a possible world title shot anyway, given that he is the WBC’s mandatory challenger at 147 pounds.<\/p>\n The Ilford man cemented and maintained that position with a points win Chris Eubank Jr<\/a> and Regis Prograis in November and April respectively.<\/p>\n However, in terms of his credentials at the world level, Stevenson said All fighting with smoke<\/a> his sense of Ben’s commercial influence explains why he is the WBC’s No. 1 contender.<\/p>\n \u201cWe reached out and said, ‘Let’s do it.’<\/p>\n “As a fighter, he’s shorter (than me). But what I will say about Conor Benn is that he’s very focused and he’s getting better – he’s not just staying in one place.<\/p>\n “I think Conor Benn is a great businessman – he’s a low-level fighter who makes a lot of money. (As for the weight difference), you have to understand that Conor Benn is not a super-big guy. He’s very small.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n