Benn On Garcia Camp After Four Years At 147

Conor Benn will step on the scales September 11 in Las Vegas for the first time at 147 pounds in more than four years. His head of performance Dan Lawrence told The Ring Magazine that Benn has not weighed the welterweight limit since knocking out Chris van Heerden in 59 seconds back in April 2022, and the return from middleweight represents a unique challenge for the team.

Benn ballooned to nearly 160 pounds for his rematch with Chris Eubank Jr in November before announcing at the post-fight press conference that he would pursue a WBC welterweight title shot. A catchweight tune-up against Regis Prograis at 150 pounds in April set the stage for his September 12 date with Ryan Garcia, but Lawrence confirmed to The Ring that the team had to refocus the entire nutrition and training strategy after years of building Benn up for middleweight.

Running And Weight Management Drive Camp Strategy

Lawrence, who oversees training, recovery and nutrition after eight years with Benn, said running will be the foundation of the welterweight cut. The team began official camp July 6 in Essex after a pre-camp in Majorca, and Lawrence explained that Benn's lower limbs required direct conditioning work to handle the increased road and track volume. "The reality is, he'll want to run more," Lawrence said, per The Ring. "It's ingrained."

The performance coach said the team sets an upper limit of 165 pounds before any welterweight camp to avoid what he called a fat camp dynamic in the opening weeks. Benn came into this cycle well below that ceiling, and Lawrence built a calorie-deficit nutrition plan executed by chef Dan Sargeant that accounts for the loss of lean tissue Benn added for Eubank. "We had to put on lean muscle tissue to get up to middleweight to compete with Eubank, therefore we knew that we'd have to lose some lean tissue now," Lawrence told The Ring.

Lawrence, who has worked with George Groves, John Ryder and Josh Taylor over 15 years in boxing, said the data shows Benn can make 147 safely and that weight is currently in a good place. The team will complete the majority of camp in Essex before moving to Los Angeles for the final weeks, then heading to Vegas for fight week. Garcia defends the WBC welterweight title for the first time September 12.

Source: ringmagazine.com