Garcia earns TKO win over Benn in welterweight title match

Conor Benn has a family legacy. His father, Nigel Benn, is a former two-time world champion, holding titles in the welterweight and super-welterweight divisions in a professional career that spanned from 1987 to 1996.  

To etch his name among other British champions past and present, the younger Benn, 29, will have to be much better than he was this past weekend going up against Ryan Garcia. The 28-year-old Garcia (26-2, 21 KOs), a native of  Victorville, California, retained his WBC welterweight championship by defeating England’s Benn (25-2, 14 KOs) by technical knockout in the second round on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Garcia dropped Benn with a powerful right hand. The challenger rose to his feet, but the referee stopped the fight because woozy Benn seemed unable to defend himself. It was Garcia’s first title defense after he defeated Mario Barrios in February to claim the title.

“I think that it kind of went exactly how I imagined it,” Garcia said after his victory. “He was going to decide to put pressure on me right away, kind of banking on the idea that I may just start folding somehow and just maybe get a little bit tired, but you can’t jump in like that. Just not the move.”

Garcia said that Benn needs “a little bit more experience,” similar to what Gervona “Tank” Davis, the undefeated (30-0-1) former three-division champion, noted about Garcia after handing Garcia his only loss as a pro in April 2023.

Garcia said he wants to unify the division against Brooklyn native Teofimo Lopez Jr., who captured the WBA welterweight title last month in the same ring, defeating Rolando Romero, who gave Garcia his second loss in May 2025.  

“Teo’s an entertaining dude, and it is going to be a hell of a buildup, and he’s a good fighter, too, so let’s run it,” Garcia said.  “I know I’ll knock Teo out, seventh or eighth.”

A compelling unification matchup will take place on Saturday, Oct. 24, when WBO and IBF super-featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete (40-2-1, 33 KOs) battles WBC super-featherweight titleholder O’Shaquie Foster (25-3, 12 KOs) at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.

“I’m coming for everything, and I’m coming with everything I’ve got,” Navarrete said in a statement earlier this month. “I’m a Mexican warrior. I fear nothing and no one. I’m glad O’Shaquie Foster accepted the fight, because I’m coming for that third world title. I already have two, so why not three? On October 24, you’re going to see a real Mexican warrior.”

“This is the type of fight every fighter dreams about, and I’m ready for the challenge,” Foster, who is from Orange, Texas, said in early September. “I’m also excited to be back in San Antonio and fighting in front of all my fans, both locally and around the world. The support I’ve received throughout my career has meant everything to me, and I’m looking forward to giving everyone another performance to remember.”

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