Conor Benn was halted inside two rounds when he challenged for Ryan Garcia’s WBC welterweight crown on Saturday, and three-time super-middleweight ruler Carl Froch has cast his verdict on whether ‘The Destroyer’ has what it takes to win a world title in his career.

Benn looked outclassed from the get-go when daring to dethrone the speedy Californian in Las Vegas, as Garcia showed the difference in levels between where Benn has been fighting and the true upper echelon of the sport. 

In round two, ‘King Ry’ landed a thudding right-hand that rocked and dropped the Briton, who returned to his feet only to be stopped on wobbly legs seconds later in what turned out to be an emphatic first defence of the belt for Garcia and a catastrophic toe-dipping at the elite level for Benn.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Froch on Fighting, ‘The Cobra’ admitted that it will be a ‘real struggle’ for Benn to ever capture world honours based off his latest showing, but suggested that the 29-year-old should campaign as a middleweight from now onwards.

“The guys at that level, and where he is, the fundamentals, the lack of amateur experience – he is going to really, really struggle to beat anyone for a world title.

“He could go up to 154 or 160, then it changes and he is a big lump. The best I have seen him is in that first fight with [Chris] Eubank Jr., I know that he lost but he walked through walls in that fight. He dug deep, he showed a lot of courage and fair play to him. I was proud of him. 

“That was at middleweight, he is not a super-middleweight, he is probably a 154 [super-welterweight], really, but it’s a dangerous division so probably 160, but who knows?”

Benn is set to move up in weight following the defeat, with a super-middleweight trilogy bout against Chris Eubank Jr being one lucrative option for the Essex-based contender.