Conor Benn’s manager claims Garcia is ‘rattled’ and makes bold prediction
On September 12 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV, Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn will headline a co-promoted card between Zuffa Boxing and Golden Boy Promotions. Fight fans in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and most countries worldwide can catch the action live on DAZN pay-per-view and The Ultimate Tier, while the U.S. can watch the event on Paramount+, with Garcia’s WBC welterweight title on the line.
Ahead of the main event in Las Vegas, Benn’s manager Keith Connolly spoke to Ariel Helwani about Garcia no-showing the first face-off and his bold take about fight night.
Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn: September 12 edges closer
Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) vs Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) is one of the most intriguing fights you can make in boxing. Both have attracted their fair share of criticism, including issues with PEDs and Garcia testing positive for the banned substance ostarine on both the day before and the day of the fight against Devin Haney. Garcia-Haney was ultimately changed to a no-contest.
Benn’s weight cut down to 147 pounds has been criticised, with him looking gaunt; however, as we get closer to fight night, he looks healthier, including at the first fight week face-off, where Garcia was a no-show. How both look at the weigh-in and how they begin on Saturday night will tell us everything we need to know.
Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn: Keith Connolly gives his take
Keith Connolly gave his verdict on why Garcia no-showed the first face-off. He also revealed a bold take ahead of fight night:
“Ryan seemed very upbeat in the weeks leading up to the fight, and now that we’ve gotten to fight week, he seems a little bit rattled.
“I think Ryan’s struggling to make weight, and I think that’s going to weigh heavily on Ryan.
“I saw the same thing with my guy Filip last week. He really got into Itauma’s head. He told him he was going to smash his face in, throw him out of the ring and send him back to high school. Conor sort of has that attitude this week.
“My guy is going to be willing to go to places that Ryan has proven he won’t go to, and I think that’ll be the difference in the fight.”
Garcia vs Benn full fight card
- Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn, 12 rounds, for Garcia’s WBC welterweight title
- Jai Opetaia vs Noel Mikaelian, 12 rounds, for Opetaia’s lineal cruiserweight title
- Mark Magsayo vs Andres Cortes, 10 rounds, lightweights
- Da’Mazion Vanhouter vs Raphael Akpejiori, 8 rounds, heavyweights
- Jose Ramirez vs Alexis Rocha, 10 rounds, welterweights
- Pablo Rubio vs Oswaldo Molina, 6 rounds, lightweights
- Abel Gonzalez vs Raul Salomon, 8 rounds, super middleweights
- Vlad Panin vs Dakota Linger, 6 rounds, super welterweights
- Sean Garcia vs Abraham Morales, 6 rounds, lightweights
Stay with Big Fight Weekend for coverage of Garcia vs Benn, including results and video highlights, and post-fight analysis.
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Ricky Carroll
Freelance Writer and Digital Marketer, spending most of his time waiting for Andy Cruz to win a world title. Also watches YouTube videos of Lennox Lewis fights on a daily basis.