Ryan Garcia smoked Conor Benn in two rapid rounds in Las Vegas on Saturday and while Garcia was a significant favourite, not many saw it as being a quick rout.
Benn got caught early and often and had no answer for Garcia’s speed. But it was a huge event, a massive build-up and, on the face of it, a commercial success.
What does Garcia-Benn mean now for the fighters and the sport moving forwards.
How good is Ryan Garcia?
Look, take away the social media following, the failed PED tests, the zany behaviour, the derogatory stuff he’s said and all of the crazy and when you focus on the fighter, he’s really bloody good. It helped that he was not in against a world-class fighter on Saturday but he appeared levels above Benn. Garcia’s electric left hook is both beautiful and ferocious. His right hand is the shot that buckled Benn. His movement kept him out of harm’s way. He was a top amateur. In short, he’s really bloody good. Does he have the minerals for when the going gets tough, as it did against Tank Davis? Can he be consistent and condemn performances like that against Roly Romero to the past?
Of course, there will rightly be an asterisk next to the Devin Haney fight, but when he’s good, he’s exceptional. At 28, he’s in his prime – particularly with his tools – but he needs consistency and activity.
Where did it go wrong for Benn?
When the first early left hook landed. I’d love to know what Benn thought then. He was taken to hospital as a precaution but Benn did what he could. I’d suggest he did all that he could. I can’t volunteer anything he should have done differently. The gap in class was too great. One doubts he will stay at 147lbs, though, and that might have been his biggest mistake.
Was the stoppage correct?
I thought it was bang on. The bloodlust of a fan is strong and I can see why many wanted a couple more clean shots. But that Benn did not complain about the stoppage and that he still wound up in hospital indicated he did not need anything else to land to determine the outcome or to validate Thomas Taylor’s intervention.
Can Conor Benn become a world champion?
At 147, it looks very tough. At 154lbs, it looks impossible. At 168, I can’t see it. Is he too small for 160lbs? I’m not sure. One could see him getting the chance for a belt at some point, at some weight, but there are some hard, hard fights out there. And, as things stand, who do Zuffa have at those weights for him to fight? Perhaps there could be a bout at 160lbs against Denzel Bentley in London for the WBO belt? I could see that. But I’m not convinced Benn wins.
But the likes of Janibek, Boots, Vergil Ortiz, Crawford (who I’m sure came up on a DAZN graphic as a future foe, along with Canelo!), Adames, I don’t make him better than and 80/20 underdog in any of those.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see him stay in the “attraction” bracket. You can’t tell me him against Kell Brook and, yes I’m saying it, Conor McGregor, wouldn’t do big business.
He’s 29. I can’t see a rebuild, an eight-rounder, a drop down in levels. Zuffa will surely want to maximise his audience and that list of possible opponents won’t include anyone who is not a big name.
What next for Ryan Garcia?
We are led to believe he has one more fight left on his Golden Boy contract, so could that be the Teofimo Lopez bout? Lopez was making his presence felt at ringside on Saturday and Garcia said that was the fight he wants. With Teo signed to DAZN and Garcia to GBP, it’s do-able. The money and the storyline might still lie with the Haney return, but that’s not going anywhere, either. You’d assume Garcia could still make 140lbs but the big fights for him are by name, not by division. Was Tank watching?
What does Benn need?
