During the course of the promotion for the Garcia vs Benn clash, both men participated in some intense trash talking. Then Ryan Garcia decided to make a bold prediction as he said he would stop Conor Benn inside of five rounds.
In the opening round of the bout, Garcia was utilizing movement to set up his offense. Benn was trying to get inside, but Garcia was able to fend off Benn’s aggression by landing the left hook, the right hand, and the uppercut.
Early in the second round, Garcia connected with an uppercut that knocked Benn off-balance. With 2:16 left to go in the second, Benn got dropped when he walked into a big right hand.
Benn was able to get up, but as the fight continued, Garcia hit Benn with a flurry of shots, which forced the referee to step in and put a halt to the contest. With the victory, Ryan Garcia retained his WBC world welterweight title.
During his post-fight interview, Ryan Garcia (26-2, 21 KOs) called out the WBA world welterweight champion Teofimo “Takeover” Lopez. After hearing the callout, Lopez attempted to charge to the ring, but he was being held back by security.
During his post-fight press conference, Ryan Garcia doubled down on wanting to fight Teofimo next.
“I want to unify against Teofimo. I think that’s the move. Um, it’s a huge fight and Teo’s a entertaining dude, and it’s going to be a hell of a buildup, and he’s a good fighter too. So let’s run it.”
In the co-main, Jai Opetaia stopped Noel Mikaelian in the ninth round. After securing the victory, Opetaia invited David Benavidez to the ring, and the two champions verbally agreed to face each other on Cinco de Mayo.
Ryan Garcia expressed his interest in being a part of the Cinco de Mayo event as it relates to facing Teofimo Lopez as the co-main.
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