Tonight in Las Vegas, Ryan Garcia puts his WBC welterweight world title on the lines against Conor Benn. Garcia’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, sees the fight ending inside the distance.
Benn is fighting at welterweight for the first time in four years and, despite hitting 146lbs on the scales, most in the sport believe dropping back down from his two middleweight bouts last year will have too much of an effect in the ring for him to spring the upset.
Garcia is fighting his third fight at the weight – he lost to Rolando Romero in 2025 in an underwhelming performance but bounced back with a disciplined display this year to beat Mario Barrios for the belt.
Speaking to Carl Froch, De La Hoya also focused on the Brit’s weight cut when giving his final verdict on how the fight plays out, ultimately picking his charge by KO.
“It seems like Conor Benn knows how to handle the pressure, he knows how to handle the fans and be in that environment. He can fight with fighters who are strong and coming at you with combinations and pressure.
“The only thing that concerns me is the weight. It reminds me of when I fought Bernard Hopkins at 160 and then tried to come back to 147 to fight Manny Pacquiao. I was depleted. I was a dead man walking. So, that’s my only concern.
“I think Ryan’s a big puncher. He’s in tremendous shape. I don’t think Conor Benn is going to be able to take his punches. I think the fact that Conor has come down to 147 is gonna take its toll, and I feel, as the fight goes on, it’s gonna get worse for him.
“So I have my guy Ryan Garcia probably knocking him out or stopping him. But all credit to Connor … I’m just speaking facts here. Ryan Garcia is in his weight class … Conor Benn knowing that his body is depleted is gonna weigh [on him].”
Both Garcia and Benn have promised to end the fight early, and the styles suggest that it will catch fire relatively early on. If Garcia comes out on top, he opens the door to major unifications against the likes of Teofimo Lopez and a rematch with Devin Haney.
Should Benn upset the odds and have his hand raised, he has made it clear that he will vacate the belt and move up in weight.
