{"id":611165,"date":"2026-04-16T17:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T17:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/611165\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T17:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T17:37:12","slug":"conor-benn-in-talks-over-world-title-bout-against-previously-banned-drug-cheat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/611165\/","title":{"rendered":"Conor Benn in talks over world title bout against previously banned drug cheat"},"content":{"rendered":"

Conor Benn is reportedly in talks to take on WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia later this year.<\/p>\n

Benn<\/a>, 29, boxed to a unanimous decision victory over former world champion Regis Prograis on the undercard of Tyson Fury\u2019s comeback against Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 11.<\/p>\n

Many criticised Benn\u2019s performance, with the Brit finishing the bout with a heavily swollen face and a cut above his eye.<\/p>\n

The bout was Benn\u2019s first with Zuffa Boxing, with the Englishman controversially parting ways with long-time promoter Eddie Hearn<\/a> earlier this year.<\/p>\n

The switch has caused a feud between the Matchroom Boxing chief and the fighter, although the 29-year-old has maintained that he respects Hearn but made the decision with his family\u2019s interests in mind.<\/p>\n

Supporters have questioned who Benn will face next, and according to reports, that man may be Garcia.<\/p>\n

As reported by Boxing Scene<\/a>, the pair are \u201cfar along\u201d in negotiations for a late-summer WBC welterweight title defence.<\/p>\n

A source told the outlet that a date and venue have yet to be decided, although the fight will likely take place in August.<\/p>\n

The event is expected to be streamed on either Netflix or DAZN.<\/p>\n

Garcia, 27, won the WBC title last time out when he defeated Mario Barrios by unanimous decision in Nevada, improving his record to 25\u20131.<\/p>\n

The victory was the California-born fighter\u2019s first since returning from a one-year doping ban after testing positive for ostarine following his win over Devin Haney \u2013 now a no-contest \u2013 in April 2024.<\/p>\n

Garcia tested positive for the substance in two separate tests taken before the bout. He was later fined \u00a3950,000 ($1.2m) and ordered to pay a further \u00a37,900 ($10,000).<\/p>\n

Benn also served a two-year ban between 2022 and 2024 after testing positive for clomifene, a banned substance according to the World Anti-Doping Agency.<\/p>\n

The National Anti-Doping Panel later cleared him of any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

Speaking earlier this month, Benn described Garcia as \u201cgood for boxing\u201d as well as a \u201cliability\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Garcia\u2019s good for the sport of boxing. I think he\u2019s a character and he\u2019s entertaining, but he\u2019s also a liability,\u201d Benn told BBC Sport<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cGarcia was next, that was scheduled \u2013 I am mandatory number one for Garcia.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, if you\u2019re me, do you wait until September or do you take a potential banana skin in the middle? I like rolling the dice, having a little bit of fun and keeping active.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know who\u2019s turning up \u2013 you don\u2019t know if Garcia\u2019s turning up.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know if he\u2019s going to make the fight or not, or have some sort of episode. You just don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don\u2019t want to be themselves in the sport of boxing, so I love it when I see a young man under fire for being who he is.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least you\u2019re true to yourself and who you are. Whether I like you or not \u2013 I don\u2019t like him \u2013 but some people do. Just be who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Conor Benn is reportedly in talks to take on WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia later this year. Benn,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611166,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,30027,9915,37653,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-611165","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-boxing","11":"tag-conor-benn","12":"tag-eddie-hearn","13":"tag-ryan-garcia","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}