Ryan Garcia destroys Conor Benn in two rounds, calls out Lopez and Haney. Ryan Garcia makes a statement in his first WBC welterweight title defense, stopping Conor Benn inside two rounds at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on September 12. Garcia drops Benn early in the second round with a devastating right hand before unleashing a barrage of punches that forces referee Thomas Taylor to stop the contest at 1:25 of Round 2.
Benn comes forward aggressively from the opening bell, looking to close the distance and pressure the champion. Garcia remains composed, using his speed and movement to create openings while looking for opportunities to counter. Benn has moments during the opening round, but Garcia’s accuracy and timing keep him in control of the exchanges.
The fight changes dramatically early in the second round. Garcia lands a devastating right hand that sends Benn to the canvas. Benn beats the count and gets back to his feet, but Garcia immediately goes on the attack. The champion unleashes a barrage of heavy punches as Benn tries to defend himself against the ropes. With Garcia continuing to pour on the pressure, referee Thomas Taylor steps in at 1:25, bringing the fight to an end.
“Teofimo, get that ass up here,” Garcia shouted into the crowd. “Where you at? He wants to get crazy, we can get crazy. I’ll beat your ass right now! “Hopefully we get to beat Devin Haney’s ass again for undisputed. F*ck the Haney’s!” Garcia wastes little time turning his attention toward his next opponents. With Teofimo Lopez in attendance, Garcia calls for a showdown with the WBA welterweight champion and challenges him to face him next. Garcia also calls out Devin Haney, reigniting their long-running rivalry.
Another interesting fight on the card sees Jai Opetaia def. Noel Mikaelian via ninth-round TKO in the cruiserweight co-main event. Opetaia controls much of the action before turning up the pressure in the ninth round, hurting Mikaelian with a barrage of punches and forcing referee Harvey Dock to stop the contest at 1:30. Petaia continues chipping away until the ninth round when he clips Mikaelian with a short-inside punch that rattles the challenger. As soon as he sees that Mikaelian is hurt, Opetaia just unloads on him with a series of shots in succession including a brutal left hand that basically put Mikaelian out on his feet. The victory makes Jai Opetaia unbeaten at 31-0.
Check out Garcia vs. Benn results below.
Ryan Garcia def. Conor Benn via second-round TKO (1:25)
Jai Opetaia def. Noel Mikaelian via ninth-round TKO (1:30)
Da’Mazion Vanhouter def. Raphael Akpejiori via first-round KO (1:58)
Mark Magsayo def. Andres Cortes via unanimous decision (97-93 x3)
Garcia vs. Benn Prelims
Oswaldo Molina def. Pablo Rubio via unanimous decision (60-54, 59-55 x2)
Abel Gonzalez def. Raul Solomon via unanimous decision (77-74 x3)
Vlad Panin def. Dakota Linger via fourth-round TKO (1:22)
Alexis Rocha def. Jose Ramirez via unanimous decision (98-91 x2, 97-92)
Sean Garcia def. Abraham Morales via majority decision (56-56, 58-54 x2)
