Ryan Garcia needed two rounds and 1:25 to take Conor Benn apart. Fighting at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the American stopped his opponent by technical knockout in a World Boxing Council championship bout and defended a title for the first time in his career. It was Garcia's fastest win in six years. For the British fighter, it was the first knockout defeat of his professional life.
Yet for all the promotional tension surrounding the fight, and for all the noise made by Oscar De La Hoya's absence, the ring told a simple story of total control. Garcia shook Benn with a left hook early, then dropped him in the second with a savage right hand. "I've always had the right hand. It was the injuries that kept holding me back," the champion explained afterwards. He wasted no time in calling out Teofimo Lopez from inside the ropes, making it clear he intends to clean out the division entirely. A sold-out arena generated $8 million in revenue for the organisers.
