Garcia Rates Benn's Boxing Skills

Ryan Garcia has a fight with Conor Benn twelve days out and has already filed his scouting report.

Asked to rate Benn across five categories ahead of their September 12 WBC welterweight title clash at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Garcia did not search for diplomatic answers: Power: 5. Speed: 6. Defense: 3. Footwork: 2. Boxing: 1.

🎟️ Get tickets: Buy tickets to Garcia-Benn card on Ticketmaster →

The power rating of five is particularly notable given that Benn's physical strength and aggression have been central to his promotional identity. Garcia is essentially saying the danger is average. The boxing score of one is the bluntest verdict — whatever Benn brings to the ring on September 12, Garcia does not believe refined boxing skills are among it.

Garcia, with the WBC belt he won in a dominant performance over Mario Barrios in February, has rarely lacked confidence in the buildup to a fight. This is consistent with how he has operated throughout his career. The scores are designed to get a reaction and to establish a psychological frame before the opening bell.

🎟️ Get tickets: Buy tickets to Garcia-Benn card on Ticketmaster →

Benn's path to the mandatory shot has drawn scrutiny of its own. The Englishman has not fought at welterweight since April 2022 and has not scored a stoppage during that stretch. The mandatory designation raised questions that the promotional machinery has not fully answered, and Garcia's numerical dismissal adds another layer to the skepticism some observers have brought to the matchup.

What Benn does have is size, physicality, and a willingness to engage that has made his fights entertaining at the domestic level in the UK. Whether those qualities translate against a fighter of Garcia's speed and power at 147 pounds is what September 12 is designed to determine.

Garcia versus Benn is the fight the card is built around. The champion has delivered his verdict on the challenger in five numbers, none of them favorable, and the challenger will have the chance to answer the only way that counts when the opening bell rings in Las Vegas.