Benn To Beat Garcia In Sixth, History Says

Conor Benn will stop Ryan Garcia in the sixth round at T-Mobile Arena this Saturday — at least if British welterweight history against WBC titleholders holds up.

Writing for The Ring Magazine, Declan Taylor notes that the only two British fighters to ever claim the WBC welterweight belt did so on foreign soil in the same round. John H Stracey cut Jose Napoles to pieces before referee Octavio Meyran halted their Mexico City clash with 30 seconds left in the sixth back in 1975. Eleven years later Lloyd Honeyghan battered Donald Curry so badly in Atlantic City that the doctor stopped the bout after six frames.

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When British Fighters Shocked WBC Welterweight Champions

Stracey entered the Monumental Plaza de Toros bullring as a massive underdog against Napoles, who had defended the title 10 times and lost only to Carlos Monzon at middleweight. The East Londoner spent a month acclimatising to Mexico City's altitude and survived a first-round knockdown before using his jab to mark up the 35-year-old champion. Honeyghan pulled off an even bigger upset against the 25-0 Curry, priced at 7/1 to win despite being British, European and Commonwealth champion. Dressed in magenta sequins, Honeyghan tore into the pound-for-pound king from the opening bell. "He's trying to take the fight to Curry," commentator Reg Gutteridge said ringside, per The Ring. "He hasn't got on his bike at all." A cut around Curry's left eye forced the stoppage before the seventh.

Taylor draws a parallel to Benn's challenge this weekend. Garcia holds the WBC strap and enters as a clear favourite, much like Napoles and Curry decades earlier. Benn trainer Tony Sims has referenced both historical upsets when discussing the magnitude of a potential victory. Garcia lacks the decorated résumé of those champions, but the pattern remains: British challenger, American soil, WBC welterweight title, sixth-round finish.

🎟️ Get tickets: Buy tickets to Garcia vs. Benn on Ticketmaster →

The bout takes place Saturday night in Las Vegas with Benn chasing his first world title.

Source: ringmagazine.com