Conor Benn has effectively ruled out a potential welterweight unification with Teofimo Lopez by insisting his September 12 fight against Ryan Garcia will be his final appearance at 147 pounds.
Benn will challenge Garcia for the WBC welterweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with Garcia making the first defense of the belt he won against Mario Barrios in February.
“There’s no excuses - it’s just my last fight at 147 to dominate, get the belt and move on,” Benn said, adding that he could eventually campaign as high as super middleweight.
That stance would remove the possibility of a unification with WBA champion Lopez, whose manager Keith Connolly has been working toward a major fight against the Garcia-Benn winner, Devin Haney or Liam Paro.
If Benn defeats Garcia and follows through on his plan to leave the division, the WBC welterweight title would become vacant.
Souleymane Cissokho, Raul Curiel, Brian Norman Jr. and Richardson Hitchins are among the contenders currently positioned behind Benn in the WBC rankings.
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