Ryan Garcia cemented his status as a major force in the welterweight division on Saturday night, dispatching British challenger Conor Benn within two rounds at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The 28-year-old American retained his World Boxing Council title after a powerful right hand sent Benn to the canvas, forcing referee Thomas Taylor to wave off the contest just 1 minute and 25 seconds into the second round.
The finish electrified a crowd of 18,855, many of whom were in attendance to celebrate Mexican Independence Day weekend. For Garcia, now 26-2 with 21 knockouts, the victory served as a successful first defense of the belt he captured in February by defeating Mario Barrios at the same venue.
Benn, 25-2 with 14 knockouts, had entered the ring promising to bring “tenacity, ferocity, spite” to the bout. He maintained that intensity from the opening bell, aggressive in his attempts to pressure the champion and dictate the pace. However, the momentum shifted decisively in the second round as Garcia caught the charging challenger with a clean, concussive right hand. Although Benn managed to regain his footing, he appeared visibly shaken, leading Garcia to swarm him with a flurry of punches that prompted the intervention of the referee.
Reflecting on the short-lived contest, Garcia explained his tactical approach: “The first round I was just saying, ‘Just protect yourself. He’s going to get crazy. Just really worry about just watching what he’s doing, download, download, download.’ Then I started hitting him. I was like, ‘Oh wow, I’m already timing him.’ And then the second round I said, ‘I’m just going to stand my ground a little bit. I’m going to get my respect real quick.’ And then when I did, I ended up knocking him out.”
Garcia dismissed criticisms that the stoppage was premature, asserting that Benn was clearly compromised. “They could have stopped it when he was on the ground. He was out of it. I looked at him in the eyes and he wasn’t even there. If it would’ve kept going, you would’ve seen a man unconscious on the floor. It’s the ref’s job to protect the fighter,” he noted.
The event, co-promoted by Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing and Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy, featured both men reportedly earning approximately $15 million. It also marked a significant return to the spotlight for both fighters following prior doping controversies. Garcia previously served a one-year suspension for testing positive for ostarine following his April 2024 win over Devin Haney, an outcome that was later ruled a no-contest. Benn, meanwhile, had been sidelined from British competition for two years after testing positive for clomifene, though he was ultimately cleared by the National Anti-Doping Panel.
For Benn, the loss was a difficult end to a fight he hoped would mimic his father Nigel’s historic success as a WBC champion. Having campaigned at middleweight for several years, the 29-year-old had described the cut to 147lb as being in the “pits of hell.” Despite the disappointment, Benn later shared a gracious message on social media: “Not my night, no excuses,” calling Garcia “a great champion.” He was transported to a local hospital for post-fight observation.
Post-fight celebrations quickly turned toward future matchups. Garcia, still in the ring, immediately began calling out potential rivals, including WBA titleholder Teófimo López and WBO champion Devin Haney. “We got to clear this [division] out,” Garcia declared. “I want to unify against Teófimo. I think that’s the move. It’s a huge fight and Teó’s an entertaining dude and it’s going to be a hell of a buildup and he’s a good fighter too, so let’s run it.”
The verbal sparring intensified when Garcia challenged López directly from the ring: “You want to get crazy, we going to get crazy. I’ll beat your ass right now.” Regarding Haney, Garcia added, “Hopefully we get to beat Devin Haney’s ass again for undisputed. Fuck the Haneys!”
Other top-tier talent, including four-division champion Shakur Stevenson, who observed the fight from the commentary desk, has also signaled interest in a bout with Garcia, who remains one of the sport’s most marketable stars. With his welterweight title secured, Garcia’s path to further unification bouts appears to be the primary focus of his next career chapter. The report also notes that benn (25-2, 14 KOs), who had promised “tenacity, ferocity, spite” throughout an acrimonious build-up and vowed to pressure Garcia from the first bell, made good on that pledge. The report also notes that prompting the champion to close in immediately and unload with both hands until third man Thomas Taylor intervened at the 1min 25sec mark, benn made it back to his feet but was plainly hurt. The report also notes that ryan Garcia needed less than four minutes to blow away Conor Benn before turning his sights on the rest of the welterweight division. The report also notes that bolting from his corner and dragging Garcia into heavy exchanges, he set a frenetic pace in the opening frame. The report also notes that while Garcia repeatedly threw his signature left hook in an ominous statement of intent, benn scored well to the body and caught the champion with a shot to the back of the head that went unpunished. The report also notes that the decisive sequence came early in the second when Benn was attempting to close the distance.
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