By: Sean Crose
WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia entered the ring in Las Vegas Saturday night as one of boxing’s great enigmas. One simply didn’t know how he would look in the ring against big competition. And his opponent this weekend, Englishman Conor Benn was nothing if not solid competition. Although he was favored to win there were always questions floating around Garcia’s head and reputation. Perhaps that’s why 2026’s Mexican Independence Day weekend likely didn’t resonate with fans the way it usually did. Still, Garcia was nothing if not explosive and talented. Sure enough, the Californian was never boring. In other words there was a reason why this Mexican Independence Day belonged to him.
Or did it?
The opening round was a close, high energy affair. There was no feeling out process. Both men immediately got to work. A right hand sent Benn to the mat in the second. Benn beat the count, but Garcia was immediately all over him. The referee subsequently stepped in and stopped the fight. Garcia did what peopli8e expected him to do, which was stop Benn within the distance. The fight was quick no doubt, but there was also no doubt the men gave it their all. Garcia simply had more to give in both the skill and power departments.
After cleaning up his business with Benn, focus immediately turned to a fight between Garcia and the dangerous Teofimo Lopez. That would be a wonderful fight to see, but because of the state of boxing, which is forever tangled in politics it’s worth wondering if the bout will actually go down. It would certainly be a big deal, and with good reason. Sure enough a Ryan Garcia battle against Teofimo Lopez would be a throwdown worthy of Mexican Independence Day weekend.. or any weekend for that matter.
With that being said, Saturday’s fight was a prime example of where the state of boxing is at the moment. And that’s in a place that’s distinctly not great. It’s not that the sweet science is dying or any of those things that people love to say. It’s simply in a rut. Oh, Garcia is good.. but he’s not Floyd Mayweather who used to run this weekend, or Canelo, who picked up the weekend from Floyd. Garcia’s battle with Benn on Saturday certainly wasn’t bad.. in fact it was entertaining. It just wasn’t a showcase between world class competitors.
Yet there’s no doubt that Garcia is one of the biggest names in the sport. On top of that Benn is huge in Europe. There’s a reason they made this fight. The problem wasn’t the pairing of Garcia and Benn. It was the scale of that pairing that was lacking. Next year perhaps Garcia will host Mexican Independence Day weekend for the sport of boxing and will be facing an opponent worthy of his skill. It’s not as of Garcia’s one to duck an opponent. To the contrary – one of the things about the man that’s truly likable is his ability to throw down without fear. Other fighters should take note.
Now that the Garcia-Benn battle has come and gone it’s time to focus on one basic fact… Garcia is a fun fighter to watch. An extremely fun fighter to watch. He may be media savvy, he may be good looking, he may well be an outright celebrity, but he’s also a thrilling fighter to watch ply his trade. That too is something other fighters might want to keep in mind. Criticize him all you want, the fact is Garcia wins a whole lot more than he loses…. and often does so in grand fashion.
