Eddie Hearn apparently has not given up one iota of hope to entice a top American welterweight to face his brash charge Conor Benn.

Hearn, the head of Matchroom Boxing, has been campaigning for the past year to have England’s Benn, the hard-hitting rising 147-pounder, face off against some of the top names at welterweight. Long at the top of Hearn’s list has been Keith Thurman, the native of Clearwater, Florida, and former 147-pound champion. Other names Hearn expressed interest in were Maurice Hooker and Adrien Broner.

You can also apparently add Danny Garcia to the list. Garcia, the two-division titlist from Philadelphia, made his debut this past Saturday at the 154-pound limit with a dominant points victory over Jose Benavidez at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Hearn floated a Garcia-Benn fight as another intriguing bout he would like to promote, even though Benn is currently in serious negotiations to face his countryman, the middleweight Chris Eubank, at a catchweight bout later this year.  

“I’d like to see Danny Garcia fight Conor Benn,” Hearn said on The DAZN Boxing Show. “Everyone knows we are in discussions for the Chris Eubank fight, it’s a generational fight that will be one of the biggest of all time over here.

“But we are also focused on 147 pounds and Conor Benn’s development. The Danny Garcia fight is a tremendous fight for Conor Benn. It’s a very dangerous fight as Danny is a brilliant fighter. I just feel like intriguing matchups is what we want.”

After Garcia’s win, talk of a rematch against Thurman began to ramp up. The two fought each other in 2017 with Thurman winning a close decision. Hearn, however, was quick to dismiss the rematch.

“I kind of feel like Danny Garcia is part of that previous generation of fighters,” Hearn said. “I don’t mean that disrespectfully. I still think he’s a great fighter and he’s a great advocate for mental health, but I look at Keith Thurman now talking about fighting Danny Garcia again at 154.

“I’m not being funny, but who is interested in that? Unless I’m missing something.”

Hearn made it clear that making a Thurman-Benn fight is still a top priority.

“I’m trying to get Keith Thurman to fight Conor Benn and I’m looking at that fight going wow, Keith Thurman, one time great welterweight, still potentially a great welterweight [versus] Conor Benn, he’s a young, fearless lion from Britain that wants to come over and let’s just have a crossroads fight.

“I’m looking at Thurman-Garcia 2 and going [puts on a quizzical look].”

Hearn stated that he wants to make sure that Benn will be involved in a big fight come October, whether or not the opponent ends up being Eubank. Why not Thurman or Garcia?

“That fight (Eubank-Benn) is just huge, but we are not signed,” Hearn said.” There’s still a ways to go on that. I can’t really tell you with extreme confidence that fight is next so we have to keep our options open. And Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia are two fights we would like to make.”