Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn Preview Sept. 12th 2026
WBC Welterweight Champion Ryan Garcia of Victorville, California puts his belt on the line against Conor Benn of Essex, England this Saturday, September 12th. The 12-round fight from Las Vegas, Nevada can be seen live in most nations on Paramount plus while DAZN will be showing it in the UK and Ireland. Garcia last fought in February when he beat Mario Barrios by a wide unanimous decision for the title after dropping him in the opening round. In his previous outing, Garcia lost a unanimous decision to Rolando Romero in a shot at the regular WBA Welterweight Belt and was decked in the second round. Before that Garcia fought Devin Haney in an attempt at the WBC Junior Welterweight Belt and dropped him in the 7th, 10th and 11th rounds for a majority decision. However Garcia failed his drug tests and the fight was called a no-contest with Garcia also receiving a year-long suspension. Benn’s last outing was a 10-round unanimous nod over former world champion Regis Prograis. Benn’s two previous contests were against former world champion Chris Eubank Jr. The two first met in a slugfest with Eubank winning by unanimous decision to hand Benn his lone defeat as a pro. Benn then won the rematch by unanimous decision seven months later.
Garcia vs Benn Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Conor Benn +200
- Ryan Garcia -265
My Pick
The 28-year-old Garcia owns mark of 25-2 with a no-contest against Haney and has 20 Ko’s under his belt. He has plenty of power as 80 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage, including seven of his last nine. He measures just under 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 70-inch reach and is just a half-inch taller than Benn with a two-inch edge in reach. Garcia made his pro debut in 2016 and has boxed 136 rounds since. Along the way, he’s captured the vacant NABF Junior Super Featherweight Title, the NABF, and WBO NABO Super Featherweight Crowns as well as the WBO NABO and WBC Silver Lightweight Titles.
Garcia rose from the canvas in the second round against Luke Campbell in 2021 to stop him in the seventh round for the Interim WBC Lightweight Belt. His first defeat was a seventh-round KO at the hands of Gervonta Davis in 2023 and he was also dropped to the canvas in the second stanza. Garcia has wins over Oscar Duarte, Jayson Velez, Javier Fortuna, Carlos Morales, Jose Lopez, Braulio Rodriguez, Fernando Vargas Parra and Noe Martinez Raygoza.
The champion enjoyed a fine amateur career by reportedly going 215-15. He won a silver medal at the USA Junior National (Under-17) Championships in 2014 when he lost to Devin Haney in the final. He also reached the quarterfinals at the USA Youth National (Under-19) Championships in 2015 and lost to Haney once again. However, he did beat Vergil Ortiz in his opening bout. He then won gold at the USA Youth National (Under-19) Championships in 2016.
As for Benn, he’s 29 years old and fought as an amateur in Australia with a reported 20 wins in 22 contests before turning pro in 2016. Since then he’s boxed 140 rounds and has compiled a fine record of 25-1 with 14 Ko’s. His only defeat was to Eubank in their first clash. He carries pretty good power in his fists as 56 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage but has gone the distance in his past five fights and in six of his last eight.
Benn, who stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 68-inch reach, has a pretty solid chin but has been on the deck as a pro when Cedrick Peynaud dropped him twice in the first round back in 2017. However, Benn picked himself up from the canvas and returned the favour in the fifth and sixth rounds to earn a six-round decision. The two met again a year later with Benn taking a 10 round unanimous decision to capture the vacant WBA Continental Welterweight Title.
He defended the belt six times as he stopped Jussi Koivula and Steve Jamoye, beat Sebastian Formella by decision and then stopped Samuel Vargas in just 80 seconds in 2021 and took a 10-round unanimous decision over Adrian Granados five months later before stopping Chris Algieri in four and Chris Van Heerden in two. Benn was brought along relatively slowly to start his career and didn’t really face a legitimate world contender until meeting Eubank. And let’s not forget this is just his seventh fight since December 2021 when he halted Chris Algieri.
Prediction…
Garcia has the slight edge in size and a big edge in power but you never know which version of the boxer is going to show up. He looked lethargic against Rolando Romero but pretty impressive in his next outing against Mario Barrios. He possesses fast hands and good skills but has been dropped a few times as well as stopped. Benn is more of a buzz saw as he tries to overwhelm his opponents due to his lack of one-punch power. There’s been a lot of bad blood in the buildup to the fight and a lot has been made about Benn’s weight and if he’ll be drained trying to get down to 147 lbs for the first time in about four years. This could be a hard-fought, close fight but Garcia’s hand speed and power may end up being be the difference. Benn’s style means he could walk into something, like a solid left hook. but if he can take Garcia’s power he may throw and land enough to take a decision. This fight is up for grabs and whoever takes the initiative and goes for it should emerge victorious. It’s a tossup but I’ll go with Garcia due to his power.
Garcia’s superior power and hand speed could be the difference here
Play Garcia -265 @ BetOnline.ag
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Conor Benn betting • Ryan Garcia betting