Conor Benn criticises Ryan Garcia for no-show at face-off
Conor Benn has branded Ryan Garcia a “bottler” after the WBC welterweight champion was nowhere to be seen at their scheduled face-off in Las Vegas on Tuesday evening, reports BritPanorama.
The pair were due to come together for a promotional media event at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, yet Garcia simply did not turn up.
Benn, visibly frustrated, was left to handle proceedings alone. In footage shared by Zuffa Boxing, the 29-year-old Briton did not hold back. “I apologise for Ryan doing what Ryan does and bottling it,” Benn declared. “We turn up, we’re here, ready for the face-off.”
The no-show came just four days before the two are set to meet inside the T-Mobile Arena for Garcia’s first defence of his WBC welterweight belt. In Garcia’s absence, Benn’s father Nigel gamely stepped into the breach, quipping: “I’m not Ryan, I turn up!”
It was an amusing scene, though hardly the confrontation that fight week organisers had envisaged. Conor then issued a blunt warning to the absent champion: “He needs to get his s*** together because come Saturday, he’s in for a real, real shock,” Benn said, adding that “Saturday can’t come soon enough.”
Garcia’s decision to skip the event fits a pattern of unpredictability, yet vanishing at this stage of fight week inevitably raises questions about his professionalism ahead of his maiden title defence. Beyond the verbal sparring, it was Benn’s physical appearance that drew considerable attention. Standing on a balcony above the Las Vegas Strip, the challenger looked strikingly gaunt, with hollow cheeks and dark shadows beneath his eyes.
That does not necessarily indicate difficulty making the 147-pound limit, but his drawn features will attract scrutiny at Friday’s weigh-in. Garcia’s own history with the scales offers little reassurance; he weighed in 3.2 pounds over the contracted weight for his 2024 bout with Devin Haney, paying a financial penalty yet still competing.
For Benn, returning to welterweight after competing at middleweight in two gruelling encounters with Chris Eubank Jr. necessitates a far more punishing weight reduction. How effectively he rehydrates afterwards could prove decisive. Benn arrives in Las Vegas riding a two-fight winning streak, having avenged his sole professional defeat by overcoming Eubank Jr in November 2025, followed by an outpoint victory against Regis Prograis in April, moving his record to 25-1.
Garcia, 28, represents a significant step up in calibre. The American claimed his WBC strap with a commanding unanimous decision over Mario Barrios in February. Saturday marks the first world title challenge of Benn’s career, and he hopes to follow in the footsteps of his father, who captured the WBO middleweight crown in 1990 and the WBC super-middleweight title two years later.
Far from being daunted, Benn is embracing the role of underdog. “I like being the underdog,” he said. “I think I perform at my best.” “Every single one of my fights has led me to this moment,” he added. “It’s prepared me for the noise and the drama and the chaos. So come September 12, it’s nothing new, nothing different.”
As the fight draws near, the stakes continue to rise. The absence of Garcia at such a critical juncture only amplifies the anticipation. In boxing, the unseen often carries as much weight as the seen, reflecting the unpredictable dance of preparation and performance.
