His father being the WBC super middleweight champion for four years and defending it nine times has made winning a green belt a primary focus for Conor. That run played a vital role in Nigel being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canasota, New York, on Sunday as part of its 2026 class.

“My dad’s a legend, not just in the ring, but out of the ring,” Conor said during a Zuffa Boxing Q&A recently in Washington, D.C. “If I’m anything like my dad, if I’ve achieved half of what my dad’s achieved, I’ll be a very happy man. He’s my God. He’s my hero. I adore him.”

Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) hopes he’ll get his chance to follow suit later this year against Ryan Garcia, who holds the WBC welterweight title. The 29-year-old contender from Essex, England, is the WBC’s No. 1-ranked fighter at welterweight, despite having not fought at the weight class in more than four years.

He weighed 149.5 pounds for his last fight, a 10-round, unanimous-decision victory over former two-time 140-pound world champion Regis Prograis on April 11 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs, 1 NC), The Ring’s No. 5-ranked welterweight, won his first world title in his last fight, when he beat Mario Barrios by unanimous decision to become the WBC champion on February 21 in Las Vegas. The Victorville, California, native dropped Barrios inside the first 30 seconds of their fight, before coasting to the most important win of his career in dominant fashion.

Benn and Garcia have both said a fight against each other will be next. The 27-year-old Garcia said he’ll face Benn on September 12 in Las Vegas during an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in May. Benn said on Saturday that the only holdup is Garcia putting his name on the dotted line.

“The goal is for me to get the WBC world title,” Benn said. “It’s a belt I've dreamed of achieving since I was a kid. It’s the belt my dad won. That belt is mine, and Ryan, I'm taking it, and there's nothing you can do about it.”