Boxing
A massive welterweight unification between Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez is already in motion
Pitbull vs. Bravo live on DAZN - September 19
All promotion long, Ryan Garcia told anyone who would listen that he’s levels above Conor Benn. Then Saturday night came around and ‘King Ry’ proved it, disposing of Benn inside of two rounds for an eye-catching knockout victory.
After defending his WBC welterweight world title, Garcia did not waste time in setting his sights on two fellow champions who might provide a sterner challenge — Teofimo Lopez Jr. and heated rival Devin Haney.
First, a victorious Garcia, who looked like he hardly broke a sweat, honed in on Lopez.
“Teofimo, get that ass up here!” said Garcia, while speaking with Max Kellerman, inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “Where you at?”
Lopez, who had crashed the Garcia-Benn press conference in disguise Thursday, tried to rush into the ring but was held back by security.
“He wants to get crazy, we could get crazy,” Garcia said. “It really don’t matter. I’ll beat your ass right now.”
It was a turn of events from the shrouded respect the fighters showed each other as Lopez, the WBA welterweight titleholder, greeted Garcia in his locker room prior to the latter’s big win.
Lopez had made it clear well before Saturday night that he wanted the Garcia-Benn winner, even predicting a ‘King Ry’ win when speaking with DAZN News. Perhaps a unification could be held during Cinco de Mayo weekend alongside a David Benavidez vs. Jai Opetaia cruiserweight unification as the latter two undefeated stars vowed to meet next May. Prior to Garcia's win, 'King Ry' disclosed that he and Benavidez had conversations about doing a Cinco de Mayo doubleheader together, as reported by BoxingScene.com.
After making quick work of Benn and calling out Lopez, Garcia didn’t exit his huge Mexican Independence Day weekend victory without some parting shots for Haney, the WBO welterweight champion.
“We got to clear this s—t out,” Garcia asserted about the division. “Hopefully we get to beat Devin Haney’s ass again for undisputed. F—k the Haney!”
Saturday night showed the continued wave of confidence and maturation of ‘King Ry', who found a home with his cobra-like looping left hands in the first round.
The early end of the fight came when Garcia whiffed and missed on a left hook in the second round, only to blast Benn with a raucous right hand that the Brit never saw coming. The shot dropped ‘The Destroyer’ in a heap, badly hurt on his hands and knees.
Though Benn made it to his feet, Garcia rushed him and unloaded a few heavy-handed shots, forcing the referee to step in and end the bout right at the 1:25 mark of the round, giving ‘King Ry’ the spectacular finish, allowing him to settle into his reign with his first title defense.
How he fares against Lopez remains to be seen, though the two have already laid groundwork toward a massive, star-studded affair.
