Conor Benn is not short on confidence ahead of his showdown with Ryan Garcia in September.
Benn is now 29 years old and turned professional back in 2016 after very little amateur experience. He won his first 23 fights with 14 knockouts but had one or two hairy moments along the way, not least what many view as a fortunate decision win over Cedrick Peynaud in 2018.
He then went on an impressive run, stopping Samuel Vargas, Chris Algieri and Chris van Heerden before being banned for failing a drug test.
After two years in the wilderness, he returned for a grudge match with Chris Eubank Jr and struggled to impose himself so ended up taking his first loss. Six months later he put on a better display and got a unanimous decision win, although many believe Eubank was weight drained.
In April he beat Regis Prograis but was unable to get the stoppage despite the former world champion looking every bit his age. He now takes a huge step up against Garcia on September 12 when he heads to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for what will be his first ever world title fight, and first fight down at welterweight since 2022.
Speaking to Ring Magazine, he was asked how he sees the fight for the WBC strap going.
“I’m going to knock him out early.”
Garcia is a classy operator who has fought at a higher level than Benn having shared the ring with Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney and Mario Barios, whom he beat for the title. He has little respect for Benn’s power.
