Next month Ryan Garcia will defend his WBC welterweight world title for the first time as he takes on Conor Benn atop a blockbuster Las Vegas bill. Ahead of the fight, the Californian has shared his thoughts on Benn’s power and skillset.
Garcia got his hands on the WBC crown in a dominant win over Mario Barrios back in February, 12 months on from an unsuccessful attempt at dethroning Rolando Romero in a challenge at Times Square.
Soon after Garcia’s triumph, it was announced that Benn would be installed as his mandatory challenger, despite the fact that the Briton has not fought as a welterweight in his last five fights – a run dating back to April 2022.
During that time, Benn has failed to register a stoppage win and in a below-par showing against Regis Progais upon his most recent outing, back in April, the 29-year-old seemed to be struggling with the move back down in weight.
As a result, many fighters and fight fans are predicting a relatively straightforward victory for Garcia come fight night and ‘King Ry’ appeared to share that confidence, giving Benn just 5 out of 10 for his power and a 1 out of 10 for his boxing ability when discussing his opponent’s skills in an interview with DAZN Boxing.
“[How do you rate Benn’s power?] 5.
“[Speed?] 6.
“[Defense?] 3.
“[Footwork?] 2.
“[Boxing?] 1.”
Garcia-Benn will headline a T-Mobile Arena card on Saturday, September 12, on DAZN pay-per-view, with the co-main event seeing Jai Opetaia collide with the current reigning WBC cruiserweight world champion in Armenia’s Noel Mikaelian – although his status could change prior their meeting.
