Paulie Malignaggi believes Ryan Garcia will stop Conor Benn when the pair meet for the WBC welterweight title on September 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Garcia won the belt in February with a wide unanimous decision over Mario Barrios and will now make his first defense against Benn, who is returning to the 147-pound limit for the first time since 2022.
Malignaggi sees Garcia’s speed, timing and experience as major advantages. “I think [Garcia] knocks [Benn] out,” he told Fight Hub TV. “Conor’s a tough kid, but he’s not good. And I don’t see how he avoids eventually just getting knocked out.”
The former two-weight world champion also questioned whether Benn has the skill and power to compete effectively at the highest level, while pointing to Garcia’s extensive amateur background and world-level experience.
Benn has admitted that making 147 pounds again has been “brutal” and has already said the Garcia fight will be his final appearance at welterweight before moving back up.
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