Beating a weight-drained opponent does not make Ryan Garcia the face of boxing.
Nobody outside of the UK and Europe really heard of Conor Benn, that is the truth of it.
A capable fighter and good toughness but not on the boxing ability level of Ryan Garcia, at the end of the day.
Gulfs in class and ability in their boxing gams.
Some notes on this and more;
- Benn was severely depleted after a brutal weight cut.
- He rehydrated to 178 pounds after weighing in at 146, could have been around 181 pounds at round one.
- Dehydration slows reactions and reduces punch resistance.
- Benn was largely unknown to American casual fans.
- Beating a compromised opponent proves little about elite ability.
- True face-of-boxing status requires beating the best at their best.
- Garcia has yet to defeat a top welterweight at full strength.
- The win was impressive in execution but hollow in meaning.
- Name recognition does not equal genuine championship pedigree.
- Knowledgeable observers are not convinced by this performance.
Conor Benn killed himself to make that 147 pounds division at the end of the day.
He really did.
Ryan Garcia learned little in a second round knockout of him, the fight should not have happened in the first place.
It should have been the Devin Haney rematch, a far tougher fight and one that had it happened would have made US fighter Ryan Garcia far more money.
Bad matchmaking, bad business and bad strategy.
Boxing is doing great again due to matchmaking being very strong again in recent times, last Saturday atypical in that overall trend for the sport.
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