Ryan Garcia has delivered a dismissive assessment of Conor Benn’s skills ahead of their WBC welterweight title fight on September 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Garcia won the WBC belt with a dominant victory over Mario Barrios in February and will now make his first defence against mandatory challenger Benn.
Benn has not competed at welterweight in his last five fights and has gone without a stoppage victory during that run. His most recent performance against Regis Prograis also raised questions about how comfortably he can return to the 147-pound limit.
Garcia appears highly confident and gave Benn only five out of 10 for power during an interview with DAZN Boxing. He rated the Briton six for speed, three for defence, two for footwork and just one for overall boxing ability.
The harshest score suggests Garcia expects Benn to rely mainly on aggression and physical pressure. However, Garcia will still need to remain disciplined against an opponent who is likely to push the pace and look for exchanges.
Garcia vs. Benn will headline a DAZN pay-per-view card, with Jai Opetaia facing Noel Mikaelian in the cruiserweight co-main event.
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