Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn scheduled for September 12

I genuinely wonder where Benn's fandom comes from. He's the most unlikeable British boxer since Billy Joe Saunders for me. I heard Chris Mannix on his podcast saying how cool and marketable he is, and I feel like somehow his unlikeability hasn't translated across the pond, where it now looks like he'll make his bag (though I hope Garcia puts an end to his undeserved little hype train).

 

I think Benn wins tbh. Body shots will be the difference.

 

All the talk of Benn not making the cut and he's a whole pound under?

 

Benn seems to need to have a chip on his shoulder about something or he’s got no wind in his sails and under performs. Defying expectations, or beating the eggs, I mean the odds. If he doesn’t have either of those things it adversely affects him and he goes flat. Here he has absolutely everything not in his favour except expectations that he’ll be knocked out. He is right when he says he has nothing to lose, he also has a readymade excuse or reason from the first bell, the weight. Just like Garcia could reference against Tank even if it was much more than that as to why he lost. That makes a dangerous fighter so it kind of messes a little with the balance between them. Garcia is unpredictable, nobody knows which version will turn up fight to fight. Benn is consistent and is what he is, Garcia is up and down but has a much higher ceiling and his basement level is probably still well within handling Benn’s best form even if he was perfect at 147.

The skill, speed and experience disparity is excessive. Benn is seasoned against washed veterans and has largely done what he’s supposed to do. He has never fought a fighter like this though. How long has it been since he fought a not ancient world level fighter? Granados and Vargas? Looking at their records Vargas had one fight after that and Granados retired, I think that answers those questions too. He is limited but very game and determined and can take some punishment we saw against a larger man with a serious grudge in Eubank. There is nothing in his history that will have prepared him for that left hook though, he has never been in with a fighter like that. Garcia is actually quite intelligent despite the spamming of his money shot, I rewatched the Haney and Davis fights and they were extremely technical between the exciting moments. He goes on about you quit you quit! Yeah but that doesn’t tell the entire story of that Davis fight, some of the stuff Gervontae neutralised would have flattened Benn badly.

 

Hoping to see a Garcia with better defense and footwork

 

Benn at 180 now one day before

 

He did win.

 

Garcia should win this comfortably but you never know with him.

 

Is that ish today?