Conor Benn said he turned down a December offer to fight Manny Pacquiao, ruling out the date because making weight would have come too soon after his latest cut and because he wanted to stay home with his newborn son. He said the fight was presented to him for December, but the timing did not fit what he needed next.
That is why Manny Pacquiao next fight news is moving now: Benn has left the door open for early 2027 if Pacquiao wants to go again, even after passing on the winter date. He said he was interested if the fight comes back around in Q1 2027, which keeps the matchup alive but not imminent.
Benn’s reasoning was blunt. After going to 147 pounds, he said the cut was so severe that even thinking about light middleweight felt wrong, and he added that there was nothing left in him at that limit. He also said he had paid the price for chasing greatness at 147 pounds, a line that explains why a quick turnaround to another big fight did not appeal to him.
The personal side mattered too. Benn said he has a newborn son and wanted the festive period with his family, making the December window one he was unwilling to give up. In a sport that often moves fast when a marquee name is involved, that kind of pause can matter as much as any purse.
The matchup still has a structural problem that no call-out can solve on its own. Pacquiao is an eight-division champion who spent his career far lighter than Benn does now, while Benn says his future is at middleweight and that light middleweight is not realistic for him. That leaves a basic question unresolved: where, exactly, could both men meet in the ring without forcing one of them into an unwanted weight compromise?
There is also the business side. Benn called Pacquiao a lucrative, marquee target for a return bout, but he made clear that serious negotiations would have to happen before anyone could sign a contract. So the next step is not a press release or a firm date; it is finding a weight and a deal that both sides can live with, and that remains the part still waiting to be solved.
