Our tipster reckons it’ll be a fairly dominant win for Garcia in Las Vegas.
There are three great fights in the boxing at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas this weekend, with welterweight world champion Ryan Garcia defending his belt against fellow big name in the game Conor Benn. On the undercard Jai Opetaia and Norair Mikaeljan clash in the cruiserweight division and Mark Magsayo versus Andes Cortes promises to be a full-blooded affair. Let’s get our boxing tipster Matt Gipon‘s picks!
This Weekend’s boxing tips
2:10am Sunday: Mark Magsayo v Andres Cortes – Cortes points or decision
3am Sunday: Jai Opetaia v Norair Mikaeljan – Opetaia points or decision
4am Sunday: Ryan Garcia v Conor Benn – Garcia points or decision
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
Two of the lightweight division’s toughest customers come head to head this weekend when Magsayo meets Cortes for a position right at the top of the 135-pound division. Filipino fighter Magsayo, 31, was the super featherweight champ in 2022, before a couple of losses forced him to move up in weight, while Cortes enters the ring with an unblemished record.
Nevada’s Cortes, 29, was a highly rated amateur with a win over current welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez before moving to the pro game in 2016. Since then the aggressive pressure fighter has strung together 25 consecutive wins including a clear unanimous decision over former title challenger Abraham Nova.
This contest marks another step-up in Cortes’ career and he’ll be matched for savagery by a man only beaten by the very best. At this weight and with quality in both corners I can’t see a KO, but the cleaner, more educated work will come from the American – back Cortes to win via decision.
Opetaia, 31, and Mikaeljan, 35, have given up their cruiserweight straps to make this fight happen, but by most independent rankings this fight pits the division’s head honcho against a tough challenger sitting around a top five place.
A pair of wins over Mairis Briedis cemented Opetaia’s position as the best 200-pound fighter in the world but fights with lesser names in the last couple of years have stopped his reputation from growing further. Australia’s southpaw is skilled, fast and aggressive, but he hasn’t managed to stop his best opponents.
Mikaeljan has done his work away from the bright lights but he’s a quality two-time champ. Age and inactivity count against the Armenian and he also has a loss against a peak Briedis in 2018. Opetaia will be too sharp for Mikaeljan but I don’t think he’ll be able to land the knockout blow – Opetaia on points is the way to go in this one.
Whether you like them or not, Garcia and Benn are two of the biggest crossover stars in boxing. ‘King Ry’ is the welterweight world champion and, just as importantly for him, the boxer with the most social media followers, while Benn is the son of a legend who has finally started his own story at the top level.
Garcia fulfilled the promise he showed as an ultra-talented junior when he won his first world title in February. The knockout never arrived in that fight, but Garcia knocked down Barrios in the first round and looked a class above in the following 11. When the Californian has his head straight and is focused on fighting he’s elite.
Benn hasn’t shown he’s anywhere near elite level yet. His best wins have been against faded fighters operating outside of their natural weight division. The performances against Chris Eubank Jr were impressive, but Junior was weight-drained and way past his best, and it’s a similar story for the wins over Regis Prograis and Chris Algieri.
The biggest concern around Benn is that he might be the one who is weight drained this weekend. ‘The Destroyer’ has not made 147lbs since 2022 and he’s already indicated that this will be his last fight at welter – if he is struggling to make the weight expect to see his endurance and resilience diminished.
If Conor has got the weight cut right, he’ll look to use strength and aggression to impose himself on Garcia. That said, the American probably has the fastest hands and best left-hook counter in the entire sport, so if Benn stands off and tries to box long or counter, he’ll get picked apart by a fighter with far more pedigree.
Garcia has fought twice at welterweight since moving up the divisions and he hasn’t won by KO yet. Benn is a dedicated boxer and, while I don’t think he’ll be at his very best coming down to 147lbs, he’ll still be strong. This will be a fairly dominant win for Garcia but Benn will grit it out to hear the final bell.
This Weekend’s boxing tips
2:10am Sunday: Mark Magsayo v Andres Cortes – Cortes points or decision
3am Sunday: Jai Opetaia v Norair Mikaeljan – Opetaia points or decision
4am Sunday: Ryan Garcia v Conor Benn – Garcia points or decision
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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