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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 18: (L-R) Ryan Garcia, Dana White and Conor Benn speak during the Zuffa Boxing Media Day at Fanatics Fest NYC 2026 at Jacob Javits Center on July 18, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Rob Kim\/Getty Images for Fanatics)<\/p>\n
Fight day has arrived at T-Mobile Arena, but Ryan Garcia\u2019s<\/a> comments about Terence Crawford<\/a> remain one of the biggest talking points around Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn. Garcia will defend the WBC welterweight title against Benn tonight in the main event of a Zuffa Boxing card during Mexican Independence Day weekend.<\/p>\n Garcia weighed 145.5 pounds on Friday, while Benn came in at 146 pounds. Garcia enters Ryan Garcia<\/a> vs Conor Benn as the betting favorite, with odds around -330 to -370. The fight brings together Garcia\u2019s hand speed and left-hand power against Benn\u2019s pressure and physical strength.<\/p>\n Garcia, however, spent much of his Wednesday appearance on Shannon Sharpe\u2019s Club Shay Shay discussing Crawford, who retired unbeaten at 42-0 after beating Canelo Alvarez in 2025.<\/p>\n Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn Gets Overshadowed by Crawford Comments<\/p>\n Garcia said<\/a> he respects Crawford\u2019s record but questioned why the former champion retired when he did.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s just a hater on me for some reason,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n He then criticized Crawford for leaving boxing before facing more young, dangerous fighters.<\/p>\n \u201cYou left the game too early. You don\u2019t really rumble with nobody that was hot and ready to go like you are.\u201d<\/p>\n Garcia also gave his view on a possible fight between Crawford and Jaron \u201cBoots\u201d Ennis. Garcia said Ennis would beat Crawford \u201c100 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCanelo was slow\u2026 you need a fast fighter to beat him,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cYou can\u2019t have Errol Spence moving at 2 miles per hour\u2026 Canelo every shot is a load up, like come on bro.\u201d<\/p>\n Crawford has since discussed the possibility of returning from retirement to fight Ennis before walking back the idea.<\/p>\n Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn Fight Has Personal History<\/p>\n Garcia also explained why Conor Benn is a personal opponent. He pointed to an awards-show confrontation two years ago when Benn grabbed him in front of his wife.<\/p>\n Garcia has promised a \u201cspectacular\u201d performance against Conor Benn and said the fight can begin a run against the biggest names available.<\/p>\n The Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn fight also comes after a difficult period for Garcia. He suffered a knockout loss to Gervonta Davis and later fought Devin Haney to a no-contest after a failed drug test. His February decision win over Mario Barrios at T-Mobile Arena helped move his career in a new direction.<\/p>\n Tonight will show whether that reset continues against Conor Benn.<\/p>\n Conor Benn Faces Major Test Against Ryan Garcia<\/p>\n Conor Benn enters Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn with his own storyline. He is seeking the WBC belt once held by his father, Nigel Benn.<\/p>\n Benn has not regularly fought at 147 pounds since 2022. His recent fights have included bouts at higher weights, including the Chris Eubank Jr. series and a victory over Regis Prograis.<\/p>\n Benn made the welterweight limit on Friday, removing one major question before Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn. The next question will be how he performs across 12 rounds after making the cut.<\/p>\n Garcia\u2019s speed and punching power have made him the clear betting favorite. Benn will look to close the distance and force Garcia into a physical fight.<\/p>\n The comments about Crawford may continue to dominate the build-up, but Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn will ultimately be decided inside the ring.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a writer covering NASCAR, Formula 1, and the IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. He has also written for Sportsnaut, FanSided, Total Apex Sports, and Last Word on Sports. Wilberforce focuses on the NASCAR Cup Series, breaking down news, driver stories, and key moments with a clear, fast, and engaging style. His work connects headlines to context, helping readers understand what matters most in the sport. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 18: (L-R) Ryan Garcia, Dana White and Conor Benn speak during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":889948,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-889947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889947","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=889947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/889948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=889947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=889947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=889947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}