The Ryan Garcia-Conor Benn WBC welterweight title fight could be formally announced as soon as Friday, as the involved parties have congregated in Las Vegas pending final negotiations, BoxingScene has learned.
Southern California’s Garcia, 25-2 (20 KOs), is set to make the first defense of the WBC welterweight title he won in February on September 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, an individual close to the situation said.
England’s Benn, 25-1 (14 KOs), is the WBC’s No. 1-ranked contender after avenging a 2025 fight-of-the-year loss to Chris Eubank Jnr and then defeating veteran Regis Prograis in April in the U.K. However, he hasn’t made the 147lbs limit since 2022.
Garcia originally announced he was fighting Benn, son of recently inducted International Boxing Hall of Fame member Nigel Benn, on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
The acrimony that exists between his promoter Oscar De La Hoya and Benn’s Zuffa Boxing promoter Dana White has made the negotiations legally tense according to those involved, and who will be leading the promotion and streaming has yet to be made public.
Paramount+ streams Zuffa Boxing cards, but Garcia fights for Golden Boy Promotions’ streaming partner DAZN.
Zuffa Boxing operates under the TKO Group Holdings umbrella that also includes the UFC, which is staging a major Saturday event headlined by returning two-division champion Conor McGregor in Las Vegas.
