Ryan Garcia has assessed the punching power of Conor Benn following his blistering stoppage win.
Garcia retained his WBC welterweight world title with a destructive performance, dropping the British challenger in the second round before forcing the referee to step in and stop the contest during the ensuing attack.
Benn employed his trademark pressure from the off, looking to close the gap on Garcia and score his first stoppage since 2022. The champion timed him coming in, however, and that was the beginning of the end.
Much of the pre-fight talk surrounded Benn’s return to welterweight for the first time in four years, with knowledgeable people in the sport warning him that the weight cut after two fights at middleweight last year would be damaging. ‘The Destroyer’ has not scored a stoppage since his previous run at 147lbs.
How he felt in the ring will only become clear when he speaks out over the next few days, but Garcia has provided an insight into his punching power in the weight class.
Speaking to All the Smoke Boxing, the 28-year-old champion said everything about Benn – skill level, speed, movement – was as expected, but a lack of true power was surprising.
“[Conor Benn] is everything I thought he was gonna be, except that I didn’t feel his punches. He was a little nervous in the beginning, I could feel it, and he couldn’t get his legs under him right away.
“I was like, ‘okay, they’re not hard, especially if I’m moving.’ I stood there for a little bit in the corner and I felt a little bit of his left hook, but it ain’t even that bad then.
“So, I was surprised that his power didn’t feel as much, but everything else was right on par as what I imagined it would be.”
According to CompuBox, Benn landed eight power punches in the first round and none in the second, compared to Garcia’s 22 overall. The Brit is now fully expected to move up in weight, though claims that he could go as high as super-middleweight seem ambitious.
Garcia – who has also shared the ring with knockout artists like Gervonta Davis and Rolando Romero – has made it clear that a unification against WBA champion Teofimo Lopez should come next.
