Ryan Garcia wipes out Conor Benn, retaining his WBC welterweight championship

The WBC welterweight championship did not change hands, and the fans were spared a late night. The outcome should have been seen a mile away when comparing the differences in talent and how the inferior man had made a huge mistake making matters personal — yet the main event did not fail to entertain.

Ryan Garcia had a career night plus put other champions and worthy pugilists on notice that he is more than a one-trick pony. He had said he would take out Conor Benn in under five rounds and he delivered a stoppage in two.  

Benn’s footwork and upper body movement were not good enough to close the distance, as he was getting bombarded with left hooks as he lunged and chased. He had absorbed nine power shots in round one, per CompuBox, and bruising was visible under his right eye at the end of the round. 

He was more effective at punching air in the following interval, but his mouth hung open and the shots he didn’t see coming — a right uppercut to the jaw followed up by a left hook — staggered him and made it obvious an execution was quickly approaching. 

Then Garcia, who has been known for his swift and powerful left hook, landed a murderous right hand, dropping the challenger onto the canvas. He stood up, but was quickly backed into the ropes, where the champion bashed him with both hands until the referee, Thomas Taylor, stepped in between them. 

The stoppage was premature, but there isn’t anything to complain about because Benn likely would’ve had his lights put out in the next 30 seconds — an image that would have been devastating for him and his father, former champion Nigel Benn, who was standing close by. Benn didn’t protest Taylor’s call, either. 

It was Garcia’s first title defense after becoming champion in February, and it was his easiest significant payday. Benn said he was more Mexican than Garcia in the lead up to the fight, which undoubtedly pissed off the champ, and did not have the effect probably intended of making him fight emotionally. 

Still, this was the type of wipeout that may change a man. We’ll see if Benn is willing to take the same risks in the ring and if he is eager to get into a nasty war of words. He had said before the fight that it would be his last at welterweight and would be looking to go up to 160 or 168 pounds. Middleweight, being far away from Garcia and other top dogs like Devin Haney and Teófimo López, or the champs at 154 pounds, is a good place to move to.

Garcia wants to fight López next and eventually Haney for the undisputed title. Notably, López had stopped by his locker room before the fight, but was not allowed into the ring by security. On top of that, Garcia went from trying to call him into the ring to saying he’d whoop him right there. It was probably staged. 

Still, the champ now has three wins, one loss and one no contest (versus Haney for PEDs) since getting knocked out by Gervonta “Tank” Davis at lightweight in 2023. He’s on the path to boxing redemption and making the most out of it.