Fight Week Is Here
Right then. The waiting is nearly over. On Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Ryan Garcia makes the first defence of the WBC welterweight title against Conor Benn, and I do not think British boxing has had a more interesting away-day in a while. Paramount+ has it globally, DAZN has the pay-per-view here, and the main card gets going at 8pm Eastern — which is the small hours for anyone watching in the UK, so set the alarm and make it worth it.
Make no mistake, this is a proper fight. Not a proper fight in the polite sense people use when they mean "competitive-ish". A genuine, awkward, two-men-who-can-both-win fight, and the fact that Garcia is a fairly heavy favourite in most places has more to do with his highlight reel than with the matchup.
How They Got Here
Garcia
Garcia is 25-2 with 20 knockouts, and he took the WBC belt from Mario Barrios in February on scores that were not close. That was the version of Garcia everyone hopes for: disciplined, patient, boxing behind the jab and letting the left hook do the finishing rather than chasing it from round one. Whether that version turns up twice in a row is the entire question of his career.
Benn
Benn is 29, he is the WBC's number one contender, and his last outing was a ten-round unanimous decision over former champion Regis Prograis in April. Before that, he settled the only professional defeat on his record by beating Chris Eubank Jr in the rematch. He is a completely different fighter to the one who was flattening domestic-level opposition four years ago — flatter-footed, better on the inside, far more willing to spend a round losing in order to win the next two.
The Styles Problem
Here is what I think decides it. Benn's route is to make Garcia work for three minutes of every round for twelve rounds. Garcia has never been fully tested over the championship distance by somebody who refuses to give him rest. Benn does not give you rest. He walks forward, he digs to the body, and he is genuinely nasty in the last thirty seconds of a round.
Garcia's route is much simpler and much faster. He is levels above Benn in hand speed and he owns the single most fight-ending punch at the weight. The left hook that put Devin Haney down three times is not a puncher's chance, it is a system — he sets it up with the jab and the right hand, and once he lands it clean, most welterweights do not get up in a fit state to continue.
The Weight
147 is Benn's home and it is Garcia's newest address. Garcia carried it well against Barrios and looked like he had the frame for it. Benn has been a welterweight for his whole career and the extra pounds have not slowed him. I do not see this being decided by the scales.
The Co-Main Is Worth The Money On Its Own
Underneath, Jai Opetaia — 30-0 — defends his cruiserweight titles against Noel Mikaelyan, 28-3. Opetaia is one of the most avoided men in boxing and one of the most watchable, a southpaw with venom in both hands who finished his last few opponents in a hurry. Mikaelyan is durable and awkward and has never been stopped. If you are staying up for the main event, do not skip this.
Luke's Verdict
Garcia by stoppage, rounds nine to eleven. I think Benn wins the early rounds by simply being busier while Garcia works out the range, and I think the middle of the fight will genuinely worry Garcia's corner. But Benn's chin has been tested and Garcia's power has not been dealt with by anybody at this weight. Somewhere after the halfway point, Benn walks onto the hook while trying to close the distance, and that is the fight.
Prediction: Garcia TKO 10. And if I am wrong, it is because Benn dragged him into the trenches for twelve and took a decision that the Vegas judges will argue about for a decade. Full card details on our fight cards page, and the build-up so far is in our Vegas face-off report.