Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn previewed their bout and came face to face at the final press conference. The two fighters square off this Saturday, September 12, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
- Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) of Victorville, California, makes the first defense of his WBC welterweight title.
- British contender Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) makes his first attempt to become a champion.
The card will stream live on Paramount+ in the U.S. and other countries, excluding the UK and Ireland, where it is available via DAZN PPV.
“I’m healthy. I’m hungry. And let’s get it,” Garcia said.
“I know you’re not on weight, b—- cause I can see it in your eyes. You ain’t on weight. Hey, you’re gonna hit that bathtub tonight, b—-. We’ll see.”
“I mean, you know, he’s uh he’s going to try real hard. We know that. Um he’s probably going to have to try to resort some dirty tactics, so we’ll be prepared for that. And uh we’re just going to um do what we do best, which is stay sharp. Um be ready for everything. And uh we’re prepared, man. We’re conditioned 100% and uh we’ll we’ll put on a hell of a show. Promise you that.”
Benn said, “I think he needs to just worry about himself. He seems to have enough problems as it is. So, I just focus on me. I don’t I don’t um look at him. I don’t care what he does ultimately. I’ll worry about what I do. I feel unbelievable. Um, I cut no corners and and we’re here now. We’ll see who makes weight tomorrow.”
“I’m I’m not concerned [about Garcia’s left hook]. Um, I don’t focus on him and what he does. I focus on what I do. I bring tenacity, ferocity, spite, experience. Um, you know, I’ve been I’ve been here before. You know, I fought in front of 70,000 three times now on the bounce. So, you know, I’m here to to come and really set the tone from the first round.”
The press conference also featured Australia’s two-time IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs) and Armenia’s two-time and current WBC 200-pound titleholder Noel Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KOs), who clash in the co-feature.
Garcia vs Benn undercard
The Garcia vs Benn undercard includes a lightweight bout between Filipino former champion Mark Magsayo (29-2, 19 KOs) and Andres Cortes (25-0, 13 KOs) of Henderson, Nevada.
Also featured is a heavyweight contest between Damazion Vanhouter (12-0, 9 KOs) of Albany, New York, and Raphael Akpejiori (19-3, 18 KOs) of Nigeria.
Among the prelims, former unified super lightweight champion Jose Ramirez (29-3, 18 KOs) of Avenal, California, takes on Santa Ana’s southpaw Alexis Rocha (26-2-1, 16 KOs) at welterweight.