Shawn Porter Says Weight Cut Will "Affect" Conor Benn

Shawn Porter, who has sparred Conor Benn, believes the weight cut back to welterweight will work against him ahead of his title challenge against Ryan Garcia on September 12.

Benn hasn't fought at 147 since 2022 and has campaigned as high as 160 since, most recently in a wide decision over a faded Regis Prograis last April. His welterweight run was previously halted by two positive doping tests that scrapped a fight with Chris Eubank Jr., a rivalry later settled with a split — Benn lost their first meeting on points before winning the rematch by the same margin.

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"I think the weight cut's gonna affect him. He hasn't been at 147lbs in four years. The manipulation it takes to continue to pull that weight down — once you stop that manipulation, and try to reinforce it, it doesn't always spark the same [result]. Obviously, we saw Claressa [Shields] get the weight off — she came back [to 160lbs]; she looked great [against Kaye Scott]. [But], for Conor Benn, I think he has to have extraordinary discipline with bringing his weight back down to 147lbs," Porter

Garcia won the title with a decision over Mario Barrios in February, his second fight at welterweight after a decision loss to Rolando Romero in May 2025. Benn has said this will be his last fight at 147, with 168 floated as a longer-term home.