Carl Froch left Tony Bellew stunned when he claimed Amir Khan was "only good for getting knocked out".
Khan was suggested as a possible opponent for Conor Benn after joining the young star in the ring following his second-round KO of Chris Van Heerden on Saturday night. Khan shied away from the challenge as he considers whether to fight on after being stopped by Kell Brook in February.
Bellew and Froch were discussing potential opponents for Benn after his 21st professional victory when Froch said: "I like the Kell Brook fight. You mentioned the Amir Khan fight but he's only good for getting knocked out that kid; he needs to retire now. Amir Khan needs to turn it in. I'm just being straight, I'm being brutally honest."
Bellew reacted by laughing before putting his microphone to his head in despair and saying: "You can't talk about people like that" before Froch added: "I think he knows he's retiring. The Kell Brook is a good fight."
Brook wants to continue with his career and has held talks with Chris Eubank Jr. He also demanded £10million to fight Benn which promoter Eddie Hearn dismissed out of hand. And Bellew added: "The Kell Brook fight is a hard fight and a dangerous fight. It's a dangerous fight because Kell is coming off, for him, the most personal win of his career. Kell is no gatekeeper, he's still a world-class fighter."
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Benn delivered on his promise to make a statement against Van Heerden, taking him out inside four minutes to extend his unblemished record to 21-0. The 34-year-old Van Heerden had not fought since December 2020, but his southpaw stance presented a different challenge to one of British boxing’s hottest prospects.
Both men were busy in the opening round and Benn’s aggression caused Van Heerden early problems, with strong right and left hands to his opponent’s temple. But the South African settled and started to find his rhythm as the first three minutes drew to a close.
It was a false sense of security, however, as Benn sent a couple of vicious short-range upper cuts through Van Heerden’s defence. Van Heerden crashed to the canvas and the referee waved the contest off after just 59 seconds of the second stanza.
