Ryan Garcia stops Conor Benn with brutal second-round TKO to retain WBC welterweight title in Las Vegas showdown
Ryan Garcia sealed a stunning second-round TKO win over Conor Benn in Las Vegas on Saturday night, retaining his WBC welterweight title in the process.
The last 24 hours before the first bell had been consumed by doom-casts about Benn’s drastic weight draining to reach the welter limit of 147 lbs.
Followed by extraordinary claims that he had put on more than two stones following Friday’s weigh-in which, if authentic, would have catapulted him into the ring three divisions even heavier than the super-middleweights.
The truth would out as his robe slipped off. But if he had gorged himself between stepping on the scales and the first bell that might done him much good. Such drastic shifts in poundage are as debilitating as dehydration.
If this was another of the mind games played by Benn and Garcia throughout the wind up and build up it seemed doubtful that any of that would have a material effect on the fight itself. Would anyone in this hardest of all games risk being beaten by indigestion.
The substantive issue was Garcia’s boxing class and knock out power versus Benn’s frenzy and punch resistance.
For the high-paying fans – Benn’s long-haulers from the old country and Garcia’s Gen Z armies of groups from his two nations of identification the US and Mexico – what mattered most was that both delivered the barn-burner of a fight they promised.
Quite beautifully those three congregations fell silent together in commemoration of one boxer who never gave in, never gave up ,never delivered a disappointing fight, never offended anyone, never betrayed a friend.
The giant screens in the 02 went into black and white mode for a nostalgic picture of Ricky Hatton who died too young as the previous British fighter to top the bill in what was until recently the fight capital of the world.
Over to you Master Benn.
Garcia came to the ring to the strains of a patriotic Mexican song, wrapped in that country’s flag and to rapturous acclaim from the baying Amex majority in the house.
Unabashed and as expected Benn went instantly on the offensive only to be met by barrage of Garcia’s trademark left hooks.
Less than three minutes later it was all over.
More to follow…
