Conor Benn's welterweight cut: Inside the Garcia camp

Conor Benn will step on the Las Vegas scales September 11 having spent the previous 1,610 days well above the welterweight limit.

The 29-year-old last hit 147 pounds in April 2022 for his first-round stoppage of Chris van Heerden at Manchester Arena, according to The Ring. He has since ballooned close to 160 pounds between fights, including a pair of bouts with Chris Eubank Jr at middleweight. Now he faces a steep descent back to welterweight for his WBC title shot against Ryan Garcia on September 12.

Running and calorie control central to Benn's weight management

Dan Lawrence, Benn's head of performance for the past eight years, told The Ring that the official camp started July 6 in Essex following a lighter pre-camp in Majorca. The key to Benn's cut has been an uptick in running volume paired with careful nutrition oversight. "The reality is, he'll want to run more," Lawrence said. "It's ingrained." Lawrence set an upper weight ceiling of 165 pounds before camp to avoid what he called a "fat camp" scenario that would have required a harsher final cut and risked illness.

Chef Dan Sargeant handles daily meal prep under Lawrence's nutrition blueprint so Benn never has to think about portion sizes or timing. The goal was to shed lean muscle tissue added for the Eubank fights without sacrificing output in training. Lawrence confirmed the team is tracking a controlled calorie deficit and that Benn remains disciplined throughout. "As we speak, we are in a very good place weight wise," he said.

Benn will complete the bulk of his sparring in Essex with head coach Tony Sims before relocating to Los Angeles for final preparations. The weigh-in is scheduled for the day before the fight in Nevada.

Source: ringmagazine.com