Chris Oliver previews Saturday night's huge fight between Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn in Las Vegas – get his verdict here.
Boxing betting tips: Saturday Sep 12
3pts Ryan Garcia to win by stoppage at 11/10 (Unibet)
Two of boxing’s biggest stars clash in Las Vegas on Saturday night and fireworks look guaranteed at the T-Mobile Arena.
Sin City seems the perfect place for Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn to face off given that they have both played the bad boy role on their way to gaining huge profiles outside of the ring.
Both men have failed drugs tests in the past, yet seem bigger than ever now and their clash, live on DAZN, has the feel of a really big event.
Garcia is making the first defence of his WBC welterweight title and is a 4/11 chance to prevail, while Benn can be backed at 5/2 to pull off a big away win.
There is no way Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) deserves a title shot at 147, having not fought at this weight for over four years, but money talks in boxing and he represents pound signs aplenty since his two blockbusters with domestic rival Chris Eubank Jr.
Benn was rapidly rising up the welterweight ranks thanks to early stoppage wins over Chris Algieri (TKO4) and Chris van Heerden (TKO2) prior to his doping violation ahead of a proposed bout with Eubank Jr in 2022. Following a couple of lacklustre US points wins in 2023 and 2024, Benn was cleared by the National Anti-Doping Panel and finally got it on with Eubank Jr in April 2025, losing a unanimous decision in a fight of the year contender.
Benn gained revenge with a polished boxing display in the rematch seven months later, but both of those bouts came at middleweight and getting back down to 147lbs for the first time since April 2022 could be a serious problem for him here.
In his first outing since a big-money move to Zuffa Boxing, Benn was meant to shine against Regis Prograis in April but was given a much harder night’s work than expected by his smaller, much older and reportedly injured opponent.
That was at 150lbs and he didn’t look great, so how Benn will fare with having to lose another 3lbs for this title shot is a major worry for his fans.
The Essex native has spoken openly in the build-up about how brutal the weight cut has been, declaring this will be his last fight at 147lbs and even talking about jumping three weights to 168lbs next. That is not encouraging talk from a man who has looked awful at the weight in fight week.
Just as Eubank Jr really struggled to make middleweight for his two bouts with Benn, the latter now finds himself in those same shoes and he will be very aware of how much the weight cut affected Eubank Jr in the rematch.
Even if you don’t take the weight issue into account, Benn has a serious task on his hands here. Having never fought for a British, Commonwealth or European title, he is attempting to jump straight up to world level here and that is a big ask.
Garcia is more skilled, younger by two years at 27 and has much more experience than his opponent.
A top amateur, Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) rapidly rose up the ranks as a professional with a string of impressive knockouts, including over Britain’s Luke Campbell in 2021, to earn himself a shot in a genuine super fight with American rival Gervonta Davis in 2023.
Garcia lost that one via a crippling body shot in the seventh round but that is levels above any form on Benn’s CV, as is Garcia’s performance against another unbeaten American Devin Haney in 2024. Although it was subsequently deemed a no contest after Garcia tested positive for ostarine, ‘King Ry’ looked fantastic in dropping Haney three times en route to ‘winning’ a decision.
So, Garcia has mixed in much better company than Benn and appears to be better in so many departments. The American has lightning-fast hands, a sharp jab, a good boxing brain and is more athletic than the challenger. He is famous for his powerful left hook and that can do serious damage if it lands.
One hope for Benn is that Garcia has blown a little hot and cold in recent years. He never turned up in a strangely flat performance when losing a decision to Rolly Romero on his welterweight debut in May last year. However, he looked back to his best when dropping Mario Barrios in the first round on his way to a wide points win as he picked up this belt in February.
If that same Garcia turns up here, then Benn is in big trouble.
One area in which Benn has the edge is that he arguably has a bigger heart and is more determined than Garcia. The underdog has absolutely no quit in him and he will be looking to take the fight to the champion from the off, but that could well play into the hands of the favourite. For possibly the first time in his career, Benn won’t be the quickest man in the ring here and Garcia has the speed to detonate powerful counters on the chin of the aggressive challenger.
Overall, this is a big enough task for Benn as it is and, when you add the weight concerns into the equation as well, then it is hard to see how he wins.
Garcia has stopped 20 of his 25 victims to date and you can get 11/10 for him to win inside the distance again here. With Benn lacking experience at world level and every chance of him being weight drained, that looks a solid bet to me.
Posted at 13:25 BST on 11/09/26
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