On the night of September 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, one of the most anticipated fights of September will take place. 28-year-old American Ryan Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) will defend his WBC welterweight title against 29-year-old Briton Conor Benn (25-1, 14 KOs). Also at stake is the Zuffa Boxing belt in this division – the first title fight in Conor's career and a bout at an important crossroads for Ryan.
Garcia is a troubled champion
Since 2023, Ryan Garcia has not shone with consistency. A stoppage loss to Gervonta, a high-profile matchup against Devin Haney that was overturned due to Ryan's doping. Public scandals, stories about cults allegedly kidnapping Garcia, failed doping tests. Followed by a knockdown and a defeat to Rolando Romero in a fight where Garcia was a heavy favorite. Even the victories that occurred between these events could not fully rehabilitate all of this.
Garcia's comeback began with a victory over Mario Barrios in early 2026. The fight turned out decent: composed boxing, an early knockdown, a confident win. But Mario is far from the status of a top champion, which is why the victory wasn't valued highly enough. What matters is what comes next and whether Ryan can maintain consistency.
Garcia's success in the matchup against Benn will depend primarily on the champion's psychological state. In adequate shape and with a clear head, he is capable of outboxing the Briton. He could catch him with a fast counter-punch, landing in a way that introduces Conor to the canvas for the very first time. But without this, even a physical advantage won't help.
Benn returns to a division where he has to cut a lot of weight
Conor Benn arrived at this bout through his own duology with Chris Eubank Jr. The rivalry was discussed for years, going through squabbles between the Eubanks and their unification in the arena. Then came two decent fights. The first one was better. In the second, Chris could no longer create enough competition and yielded to the fresher opponent.
After that, Conor made the most high-profile move in boxing in recent years. He left Matchroom – the promotion that did a lot for him during his doping scandal – and moved to their fiercest competitor, Zuffa Boxing. There he had one fight, but not even as part of the promotion's own card. Benn fought Regis Prograis at a The Ring tournament. Insiders reported that for that fight and signing the deal, Conor received 10 million dollars. Expensive, but lucrative.
For Benn, this matchup is his first under the Zuffa banner and the first title fight of his career. He competed at middleweight against Eubank, and now he is forced to drain himself down to welterweight. Conor himself noted that this bout is his last in this division, regardless of the outcome. Next up will be either middleweight or even super middleweight.
Size and tactics
There is no major difference in basic physical dimensions: Garcia is taller by a centimeter, with a five-centimeter greater reach. The advantage in stoppage percentage (80% vs. 56%) suggests that Ryan is noticeably more dangerous with a single punch – 20 stoppages in 25 wins compared to 14 for Benn. Furthermore, Conor hasn't won by knockout since 2023. Around that same time, prohibited substances were found in his system. And not a single knockout since. It happens.
An equally important point is that Conor has mostly fought in 10-round bouts. On top of that, he has to cut weight. Although against Eubank he comfortably went 12 rounds and didn't break. Therefore, if the weight cut doesn't take a toll, counting on the Briton to crumble physically is not an option.
Quite interesting is how mentally prepared Ryan will be. This is one of the key factors, as he cannot boast of consistency. But if he deals with his inner demons, he can handle British challengers too.
What's at stake and who is on the undercard
At stake will be the WBC title held by Garcia. In addition, the vacant Zuffa Boxing welterweight belt will be up for grabs.
On the undercard is a matchup between Jai Opetaia and WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian. Opetaia moved to Zuffa and immediately lost his IBF champion status – the organization stripped him of the belt, and the Australian's team is taking legal action. Mikaelian was supposed to fight Benavidez. But the teams failed to reach an agreement, so Zuffa intercepted the champion for their own fighter.