Conor Benn’s recent promotional shift has not at all dulled his taste for alphabet titles.
The second-generation boxer from Ilford, England took the time to both congratulate newly crowned WBC 147lbs titlist Ryan Garcia and caution that he was on the hunt for the bauble. Benn was ringside for Garcia’s dominant, title-winning effort over Mario Barrios on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and immediately expressed his interest in setting up a future blockbuster showdown.
“Congratulations champ,” Benn, 29, said immediately after the fight. “See you later this year. Make sure you keep my belt warm.”
Garcia’s feat took place barely 36 hours after Benn, 24-1 (14 KOs), dominated headlines upon his signing with promotional upstart Zuffa Boxing. Of course, boxing fans were quick to point out Zuffa’s anti-sanctioning body stance in expressing curiosity over Benn’s continued interest in the WBC title.
Matchroom Boxing, Benn’s career-long promoter up his signing with Zuffa, previously petitioned the WBC to rank the Brit at 147lbs, despite having not fought at the weight since 2022.
Naturally, the sanctioning body was happy to accommodate the request, just as it was gleefully eager to lift the ban on Garcia participating in WBC-sanctioned fights. This is still a business first, after all, and such a fight would produce huge box office numbers, regardless of stakes or weight.
The disclaimer of it potentially taking place “later this year” gives both parties time to get their affairs in order.
For his part, Garcia didn’t seem to acknowledge Benn at least as part of his immediate plans. All of the post-fight talk centered around two possible next options – a rematch with Devin Haney, 33-0 (15 KOs), or a catchweight clash with recently crowned lineal, RING and WBO 140lbs champ Shakur Stevenson, 25-0 (11 KOs).
A second fight with Haney would represent a WBC and WBO unification clash and also settle old business from their controversial meeting in April 2024.
Garcia badly blew weight for the contest, which left him ineligible to challenge for Haney’s WBC 140lbs title. Far worse, his originally ruled majority decision win was changed to a no contest after he tested positive for accelerated levels of ostarine.
The two remain bitter rivals – an understandable stance from Haney’s perspective. Both are with DAZN and have spent each of their past two fights under the Ring and Riyadh Season umbrella.
Stevenson became a four-division titlist and true two-division lineal and RING champ following his tour-de-force performance in January in New York City. The unbeaten boxer from Newark, New Jersey lifted the 140lbs championship in a landslide victory over Teofimo Lopez.
Interestingly, the first fighter mentioned as a next option was Benn, who joined Stevenson in the ring as the two engaged in a contentious verbal exchange. Matchroom was the lead promoter for the event and – at the time – represented both Stevenson and Benn.
Stevenson-Lopez and Garcia-Barrios both headlined Ring-branded events. Stevenson was on hand on Saturday as part of the DAZN broadcast team and conditionally expressed interest on air in next facing Garcia.
However, he’d like for such a fight to take place at a 144lbs catchweight and confirmation of full VADA testing in place. The latter is not an issue, as Turki Alalshikh has made such testing the standard for all Ring and Riyadh Season events.
Stevenson similarly called for Benn to commit to a rehydration clause, similar to his two fights with heated domestic rival Chris Eubank Jnr. Benn avenged his lone career defeat with a clear win last November, though many sought to downplay the effort as having come against a depleted version of Eubank.
Garcia remains open to a fight with Stevenson. He even mocked Stevenson’s drugs testing demand during the post-fight press conference, when he held up his left arm showing a band-aid to cover the fresh test conducted by VADA.
It wouldn’t take place until later in 2026, when Garcia has time to heal his right hand – and apparently sort out his own promotional issues.
The 26-year-old star from Victorville, California claimed that Saturday was his final contracted fight with Golden Boy Promotions. The hall of fame former six-division titlist and company co-founder Oscar De La Hoya disagreed with that take and insisted Golden Boy still has him for several more fights.
Benn’s debut with Zuffa Boxing will take place in the UK and likely in late May. It was not immediately clear whether it would take place at welterweight – where he planned to return, though for the purpose of challenging for his first major title – or at middleweight. Zuffa has yet to recognize junior and super divisions during its early launch and plans to only focus on eight weight divisions.
After the spring time showing, anything is possible for Benn – perhaps even his desired high-profile showdown with boxing’s newest crowned titleholder.
