Conor Benn makes his eagerly-anticipated return to the ring on Saturday night against the most experienced opponent of his career to date in Samuel Vargas.
‘The Destroyer’ claimed the most high-profile victory of his career with a points win over Sebastian Formella when he last entered the ring last November.
However, the 24-year-old now faces another step-up, with his opponent fighting at elite level in the welterweight division for a number of years.
Benn will put both his WBA continental welterweight title and his unbeaten record on the line when he comes up against his Colombian counterpart, who insists he cannot see any way he gets stopped on Saturday.
Though competing at a high level, a 31-year-old Vargas has now lost three of his last fights and comes in with a record of 31 victories, six defeats and two draws.
And with Benn very much on the up, perhaps it’s the perfect time and opponent for the Essex-born welterweight to make another step towards the division’s summit. A defeat would be damning, however, and would certainly delay any imminent title ambitions, though world level is still most likely a couple of years away regardless.
With the intriguing clash swiftly approaching, Sportsmail takes you through everything you need to know.
Conor Benn (left) and Samuel Vargas (right) will go head-to-head in an intriguing clash
The match-up between Benn and Vargas is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 10 at the Copper Box Arena in London.
The welterweights are expected to walk to the ring at around 10.30pm, though that of course will depend on results from the undercard.
That, however, we do have a start time for, with the undercard action available to watch from around 7pm.
The card will be shown live on Sky Sports Arena, with subscribers also able to stream the event live on Sky Go, which is available on a variety of devices.
Alternatively, if you don’t have a subscription you can buy a Sky Sports day pass from NowTV for £9.99, with a month pass at £33.99.
For those outside of the UK and Ireland – other than anyone in New Zealand, Australia or China – the fight will be available to watch on DAZN, which will cost just £1.99-a-month should you want to sign up.
Benn and Vargas exchanged some heated words with the fight now just over 24 hours away
Benn is certainly no stranger to a bit of smack talk, but he perhaps took it one step further on Friday afternoon, when he opted for Vargas’ native language of Spanish when hurling over his insults.
Both welterweights weighed in marginally inside the 10st 7lbs limit, with the pair engaging in an intense stare-off with the bout just over 24 hours away.
Speaking of the Spanish exchange, Benn subsequently told Sky Sports: ‘I told him that I fear no man.
‘He wanted to speak in Spanish to intimidate me? No, I’m ready mate. I ain’t scared of nobody. I’m ready to fight now.
‘I told him in Spanish that it doesn’t faze me. Not at all.
‘The switch has already been flicked. It flickers. I have a moment of rage then I’m back to normal. That shows I’m ready. I’m champing at the bit.’
Vargas was defeated by unanimous decision when he fought against Amir Khan back in 2018
For those who don’t know as much about Samuel Vargas, Benn will be entering the ring against his most experienced opponent to date on Saturday night.
Benn stepped it up by defeating Formella in November last year, but in Vargas – who has shared the ring with the likes of Errol Spence, Danny Garcia and Vergil Ortiz – it’s now another step towards the top-end of the division for the Brit.
Of course, many fight fans will also remember that Vargas has been on British soil before, when he lost via a unanimous decision to Amir Khan in 2018.
Vargas proved to be a highly challenging opponent for Khan, however, who was dropped in the second round of their bout. The Colombian also fell to the canvas on two occasions throughout an entertaining match-up, however, before the Brit was awarded the victory on the scorecards by a wide margin.
Benn believes he will emerge victorious on Saturday night, doing it in better fashion than Khan did now three years ago.
He told Sky Sports: ‘Can I do a better job than Khan, Vergil Ortiz, Danny Garcia, Errol Spence, Luis Collazo?
‘When you beat a fighter, you gain their experience. This is a stepping stone in my career.’
Conor Benn v Samuel Vargas for the WBA continental welterweight title
Ukashir Farooq v Alexander Espinoza for the WBC international silver bantanweight title
Shannon Courtenay v Ebanie Bridges for the vacant WBA female bantamweight title
Savannah Marshall v TBA for the WBO female middleweight title
John Hedges v Stanko Jermelic
Nick Campbell vs Peter Frohlich
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