What we saw on Saturday night was a dazzling and devastating display by someone who may well become the next superstar of American boxing. Ryan García’s (26-2, 21 KOs) emphatic victory over Conor Benn (25-2, 14 KOs) significantly raised the Californian fighter’s profile in what was his first defense of the welterweight world title.
Although many question whether Benn was a top-level opponent, ‘KingRyan’ did what he had to do to become the boxer everyone wants to see, with all due respect to the Benavidezes, Inoue, or ‘Bam’ Rodríguez. García captivated the crowd and the event promoter Dana White (Zuffa Boxing) in just two rounds.
Zuffa’s evening went perfectly, starting with its promotion. The García-Benn fight received support on UFC broadcasts and social media, on WWE’s platforms, and at Fanatics Fest. The fighters, especially García, then fulfilled their role in the ring. Although Zuffa does not have Ryan’s rights, Dana White did not hesitate to heap praise on the boxer: “He has knockout power, he’s a handsome kid, he speaks well, and he doesn’t dodge anyone. This kid wants to fight everybody.”
The next target for García is to unify his title with the one held by Teófimo López in a headline bout that would take place on the weekend of Cinco de Mayo 2027. However, Turki Alalshikh, who promoted the fight between García and Benn together with White for Zuffa Boxing, has other plans, as he wants Terence Crawford to come out of retirement to face ‘KignRy’, according to Ring Magazine. The fight we definitely will not see would be a rematch against Gervonta Davis, as he insists he will not move up to welterweight and Ryan will no longer move down to lower divisions.
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