By: Sean Crose

There’s no denying he looked terrific his last time out. Make no mistake about it, Ryan Garcia regained a lot of love last February when he bested Mario Barrios, winning the WBC world welterweight title. The truth was that Garcia needed a major win quite badly that night. It wasn’t just the fact that Garcia won that was notable, it was the fact that he won in very impressive fashion. People had questions and rightly so after Garcia was popped for banned substances upon defeating Devin Haney in a stunning 2024 victory. A subsequent upset loss the following year to Rolando Romero made things go from bad to worse for the popular Garcia.

Now that he’s shown how good he can be…free of banned substances … people are wondering if Garcia will keep up with his winning ways when he faces the talented and popular Brit Connor Benn in September. Benn may not be a superstar in North America but he’s a skilled fighter who knows how to fight on the big stage. Garcia would take him lightly at his own risk. And that of course leads to the question: Can Garcia impress again the way he did last winter against Barrios?

With his good looks, exciting style and social media savvy, Garcia remains a very popular attraction in the fight game. He needs to be consistent though. Like Tyson Fury, Garcia has found himself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. With that being said, it’s been a long time since Garcia showed any kind of instability. Hopefully he won’t show it again. Mental health is no laughing matter after all. Back to the consistency, however, can the hard-hitting Garcia show he’s not only a popular fighter but a high level one as well? The world will find out in Las Vegas on September 12th.

One of the main reasons this is an interesting matchup is because, stylistically, these two have the ability to send in the combustion. Benn is all attack. The man doesn’t back down. He just keeps coming. He’s only lost once and he avenged that loss his very next fight. He’s the man who takes the boxing business seriously. Garcia on the other hand is explosive. His right hand is a thing of wonder. It can take down a wall. Whether or not Benn will run into that right hand is one of the big questions leading into the fight. In truth it’s one of the selling points.

Despite the odds, this is a bout you can see either man effectively winning. It should at the very least be entertaining. People might likely say Garcia’s career is ruined if he loses, but that wouldn’t be the case.. unless of course the man didn’t look 100%. That in the end is what all the doubting is about, whether or not Garcia takes the sport as seriously as he should. If he performs against Benn as he did against Barrios the future will look bright for the 27-year-old.

Garcia is a natural celebrity. He does well for himself in public. That’s a gift not everyone has, and Garcia has simply used it to his advantage. The problem is such attention and celebrity can lead to distractions. How many fighters have fallen under the bright lights? That’s not the kind of story Garcia wants to have, especially now that he’s earned himself a world title and has impressed fans once again. Fairly or unfairly there may always be doubts about Ryan Garcia. Many, if not most people will have their doubts erased however if Garcia performs well against Benn, for Garcia will have proven he can be relied upon regularly to perform at his best. And that would be nothing but good for the man.