Ryan Garcia blitzes Conor Benn for 2nd round stoppage

LAS VEGAS – Ryan Garcia didn’t take long to defend the WBC welterweight title at the T-Mobile Arena as he scored a TKO victory over Conor Benn in the second round in front of 18,555 in attendance. For Garcia, it was his 21st win by way of knockout (26-0). Benn fell to 25-2.

In the first round, Garcia looked to land the left hook within the first few seconds of the fight. Benn wanted to get in range by walking down Garcia, getting below Garcia’s punch and landing to the body. Garcia moved around the ring and relied on his hand speed to get to Benn and both fighters were able to have their moments in the first round. An attack by Benn to start the second round was halted by a right uppercut by Garcia. He was able to land a right hook to the body, then a right uppercut connected before a right hook dropped Benn in the middle of the ring. Benn got up midway through the count, but was not able to mount an offense as Garcia threw punches with Benn on the ropes. Referee Thomas Taylor stepped in and stopped the bout at the 1:25 mark of the second round.

“I’ve always had a right hand, but I’ve had injuries. The past two fights have been the first that I’ve had no injuries,” Garcia said.

That was evident as he was able to throw the right hand with bad intentions for as long as the fight lasted. Benn was not able to keep up with the speed and that was the difference.