Ryan Garcia has selected Conor Benn as the man he’ll make his first WBC welterweight title defense against, telling Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show Monday that the bout will take place in Las Vegas on September 12.
The announcement comes a day after Saudi Arabia boxing financier Turki Alalshikh stated Canelo Alvarez will meet WBC super-middleweight champion Christian Mbilli earlier September 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on DAZN.
Garcia, 25-2 (20 KOs), typically fights on DAZN, and Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena is open to book for the traditional Mexican Independence Day weekend card.
After participating in consecutive main-event bouts versus Chris Eubank Jnr at England’s Tottenham Stadium – the first clash was the 2025 fight of the year and Benn avenged defeat in the rematch – Benn, 25-1 (14 KOs), returned to defeat former 140lbs champion Regis Prograis by unanimous decision April 26.
The move down to welterweight seemed to diminish Benn, but the son of Hall of Famer Nigel Benn followed the victory by signing a multi-fight extension with Zuffa Boxing.
That means bitter promotional rivals Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions and Zuffa’s Dana White, who doubles as UFC CEO/president, will be matching their fighters in the glamour-division clash.
It was not immediately clear if Paramount+, which streams Zuff Boxing cards, will stream Garcia-Benn.
Garcia, 27, won his belt February 21, defeating Mario Barrios by unanimous decision after dropping the former champion in the first round.
Earlier Monday, Garcia told ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith that he strives to become the new face of boxing, replacing former stablemate Alvarez.
Garcia originally told Fallon his coming opponent was “from the other side,” drawing a puzzled look from Fallon, who wondered aloud if the foe was an alien from a UFO.
“No, he’s from England. I’ll just say his name: Conor Benn,” Garcia said, recounting a story of when Benn grabbed Garcia at an awards show two years ago.
Benn is the WBC’s No. 1 ranked contender.
