Conor Benn has watched the footage of his begetter Nigel’s first-round stoppage implicit Iran Barkley astatine the edifice erstwhile known arsenic Bally’s Las Vegas for the WBO middleweight title.
Said the 29-year-old British middleweight bound to situation Ryan Garcia astatine T-Mobile Arena: “Hopefully the Garcia combat goes precisely the aforesaid way.”
A boxer not by commencement but prime arsenic the lad of a two-weight satellite champion, the younger Benn, 29, tin person his infinitesimal and spoil Garcia’s Saturday night. As the mandatory challenger for the WBC welterweight rubric won by Garcia successful February, Benn intends to permission his people successful Las Vegas similar his begetter 36 years prior.
Natural value oregon not.
Benn (25-1, 14 knockouts) hasn’t scaled the welterweight bounds of 147 pounds successful much than 4 years, warring past twelvemonth astatine 160 pounds against Chris Eubank Jr., his dad’s rival’s son. By splitting their matchups earlier rowdy crowds astatine London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, helium has burnished his billing for a bout with Garcia, who counts arsenic 1 of their sport’s apical draws.
“For this opportunity, I’d marque 140 (pounds),” said Benn, who past bushed Regis Prograis astatine a 150-pound headdress and hasn’t yet challenged for a satellite title. “I can’t bash nary more. I can’t bash much than I’ve already done oregon been doing. I’ve fixed 110 percent. Even the days wherever I lone person 10 percent successful me, I inactive springiness 100 percent of that 10 percent.”
The elder Benn, a prima successful Britain and besides Las Vegas successful 1990, didn’t coax his lad into boxing, but the younger Benn couldn’t assistance pursuing his path. He took up the commercialized arsenic a teen and turned nonrecreational sans extended amateur polish — debuting astatine 19 and gathering his illustration successful England passim his archetypal 21 fights.
The matchup with Eubank, a British bonanza, was primitively scheduled successful 2022, but Benn incurred a yearlong suspension for investigating affirmative for a show enhancer. A pre-fight trial turned up for clomifene — a banned substance helium has repeatedly denied knowingly consuming — and halted his momentum, triggering turmoil internally.
“Forget boxing, hide each of that,” said Benn, his tattooed torso, arms and cervix framing his look with his bleached blonde hair. “Going done what I went done and coming done the different extremity — I’ve had to amusement much resilience, strength, integrity, grit successful them decisions unsocial that I person for my full career.”
Benn ended a 17-month layoff successful 2023 with a inferior middleweight triumph successful Orlando and followed successful 2024 astatine the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas with different inferior middleweight win. Without flashing the popular and powerfulness helium had earlier his affirmative clomifene test, helium archetypal fought Eubank a twelvemonth agone successful April — losing a thrilling but unanimous decision.
But dominating their November rematch led to his illogical installation arsenic the apical contender for the WBC’s welterweight rubric contempt his abandonment of the division. The came a woody with Zuffa Boxing, organizers of his matchup with Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs), who knows the perils of warring depleted.
Garcia’s nonaccomplishment successful 2023 to Gervonta Davis was astatine 136 pounds with a rehydration clause, dissimilar his matchup with Benn.
“I don’t person immoderate sympathy for him,” Garcia said. “I had to bash it. Everybody has to bash it. UFC fighters person to bash it. .. It’s truly not that bad.”
Bad oregon not, it’s what Benn agreed to successful bid to combat for Garcia’s rubric and people apical billing successful Las Vegas. He said helium doesn’t speech astir boxing with his father, preferring alternatively to speech astir life.
That mightiness alteration if helium beats Garcia thousands of miles distant from home.
“He’s my idol,” Benn said of his dad. “I don’t ever spot myself separated from my dad. I don’t spot myself retired of my dad’s shadiness truthful to speak. I deliberation erstwhile you idolize idiosyncratic and their vocation and what they achieved — I’m ever my dad’s lad and they benignant of travel arsenic one. Because I americium a merchandise of my aged man.”
Contact Sam Gordon astatine sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon connected X.
Fight Night
Who: Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn; 12 rounds; WBC welterweight title
What: 5 p.m. Saturday
Where: T-Mobile Arena
TV: Paramount+ (streaming)
Tickets: Starting astatine $188 connected axs.com
Odds: Garcia -325, Benn +240
English (US)·