Ryan Garcia Names His Next Opponent

WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) has publicly named Conor Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) as his next opponent, saying the fight will be in Las Vegas in August.

“It’s going to be in August. We’re gonna have it in Vegas. His name’s Conor Benn, from the UK. We’re gonna eat that up. Conor’s about to get blasted,” Garcia said

Benn’s former promoter Eddie Hearn has since suggested September 12 on Netflix is the more likely landing spot if earlier dates don’t come together. A September 12 date would put the fight head-to-head with Canelo Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) vs Christian Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) in Saudi Arabia.

Benn is the WBC’s mandatory challenger at 147 pounds and made his Zuffa Boxing debut on April 11 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, beating Regis Prograis by unanimous decision at a 150-pound catchweight. He called out Garcia immediately after. The fight faces a promotional obstacle as Benn is signed with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing, while Garcia remains with Golden Boy Promotions and Oscar De La Hoya — a pairing with well-documented friction. However Benn’s manager, Keith Connolly has confirmed talks are underway for Garcia’s first world title defense against Benn.

“We’re in the middle of negotiating [Garcia-Benn], along with some other big fights. I could see it happening; I could see it falling apart – but we’re targeting that fight right now. I think that’s a great fight for both guys. It’ll be a massive fight if it’s over here [in the UK] and it’ll be a massive fight it it’s in [Las] Vegas. It’s a sell-out wherever it goes. I think we’ll know in the next couple of weeks where we’re headed, but that’s definitely the fight that we want,” Connolly stated