Paulie Malignaggi explains why 'Conor Benn will never be a world champion'

Former welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi believes Ryan Garcia will easily deal with Conor Benn this Saturday in the maiden defense of his WBC 147lbs title at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Benn has been awarded a mandatory shot at Garcia’s belt by the WBC despite not competing in the welterweight division since 2022. In that time, Benn has bounced around between the 154 and 160lbs weight classes after twice testing positive for banned substance clomifene.

Benn will now return to 147lbs for the first time in four years, but images released in recent weeks have attracted concern. Benn appears drawn in the face and a lot tighter around the waist compared to when he fought Chris Eubank Jnr in his two battles at middleweight in 2025. Benn has also announced this will be his last contest at welterweight.

Malignaggi, a former beltholder at 140 and 147lbs, believes that Benn’s weight cut will make little difference to the outcome of the bout.

“I don't think it makes a difference. I don't think Conor Benn's competitive in that fight, whether he's at his best or whether he's weight-drained,” Malignaggi told BoxingScene. “I think it only hurts him to be weight-drained, of course, and I know that he doesn’t make weight that easily. That's pretty much common knowledge. But you can bring the best Conor Benn that ever showed up in a fight, I don't think he's competitive against Ryan Garcia.

“I don't think he's world-class, but he's a guy who's in world-class fights due to his popularity. It does suck to have to struggle to make weight. Whether you're good or not, it's just an irritating experience. It's just not an enjoyable experience.

"But he's going to get to fight for the world championship, so he'll be able to say that he fought for a world title. Other than that, I don't think even if he was at his best, and he wasn't struggling, you could tell me he was the best training camp Conor Benn ever had, I don't think he would be competitive against Ryan Garcia.”

Malignaggi believes Benn’s one chance to win a world title may have passed him by. Benn turned down the chance to face now-former WBC welterweight titleholder Mario Barrios in order to pursue a rematch with Eubank Jnr. Barrios would go on to lose his belt to Garcia in February earlier this year.

“It's crazy, Mario Barrios is one of the worst world champions I've ever seen in my life,” said Malignaggi. “I think just because of that… Conor Benn would have also been one of the worst world champions I would have ever seen in my life, but between the both of them, you never know. Maybe Conor would have been able to beat Mario. Who knows? Mario definitely wasn't at a very high level, especially by the point in time he was in that welterweight division. I mean, that was the long shot that could have been, but now, for sure, he's never going to be a world champion.”