Andreas Hale
Multiple Authors
Golden Boy Promotions’ Ryan Garcia will put his WBC welterweight title on the line against Zuffa Boxing’s Conor Benn on Sept. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Zuffa Boxing co-founder Turki Alalshikh announced via social media Wednesday.
The championship fight will be a Ring Magazine show co-promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Zuffa Boxing. It will stream live globally on Paramount+ and exclusively on DAZN in the UK and Ireland.
The fight announcement set for Mexican Independence Day weekend in Las Vegas ends a standoff of several months between Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and Zuffa Boxing, which was co-founded by UFC CEO Dana White. For now, fences will be mended as the two rivals work together with their respective fighters, who began trash talking on social media shortly after the fight was announced.
“You talk too much,” Benn wrote on X. “I’m gonna smash your head in.”
“I told you in person, you aren’t a good enough fighter to beat me,” Garcia responded on X. “You forced yourself in this position…I will show the lesson of rushing into something you just aren’t ready for.”
Garcia had originally teased the fight during an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” back in May, telling the late night host a bout against Benn would be a “little personal.” At the time, there was no contract signed. Golden Boy Promotions sent a cease and desist letter to Zuffa Boxing and the TKO Group to put a stop to what they alleged as interference with Garcia. Another order also reportedly came from DAZN, who held broadcasting rights to Garcia’s fights.
De La Hoya went on the offensive, repeatedly declaring that he had yet to be contacted to make the fight. He has been at odds with White even before his launch of Zuffa Boxing, repeatedly taking aim at the UFC CEO with his Clapback Thursday videos on social media. However, things began moving in a different direction last week when De La Hoya took to social media to state that he “got the memo” to begin working on the fight.
Garcia and Benn were both in Las Vegas for Conor McGregor’s return at UFC 329. Both were seen on stage alongside recent Zuffa Boxing signee Shakur Stevenson during Friday’s weigh-ins, which made it seem that an announcement was imminent. Sources told ESPN that the announcement was held up due to deal points still needing to be ironed out.
“This is such a great fight,” White said in a statement. “Conor Benn has won 26 of his 27 professional fights and is coming off a big win in the U.K. earlier this year. Ryan Garcia is one of the biggest stars in boxing and a world champion. These guys are in their prime, and it’s a fight they’ve both wanted for a long time. They’ll come face-to-face for the first time today before stepping into the ring on September 12 during Mexican Independence Day weekend at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The energy in that place will be incredible.”
“Been building up to this for a decade. I won’t miss,” Benn added on X.
With business taken care of, Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) will make the first defense of the title he won in February when he defeated Mario Barrios. One of boxing’s biggest stars will compete on Mexican Independence Day weekend, a date usually reserved for Canelo Alvarez. However, Canelo’s return against WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli in Saudi Arabia was pushed back to October, opening the door for Garcia to take the date.
Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) will return to welterweight for the first time since 2022. The Brit’s career took a detour when he moved up in weight to face rival Chris Eubank Jr. Benn dropped the first fight in April of last year but won the rematch in November.
Benn, who originally signed a one-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing in February, made his intentions known that he planned to move back down to welterweight and challenge for a world title. He defeated two-time junior welterweight champion Regis Prograis in the co-main event of Tyson Fury’s decision win over Arslanbek Makhmudov in April. Benn signed a multifight deal to remain with White’s promotion several days after his win over Prograis.
The fight signals that Zuffa Boxing will allow their fighters to challenge for other world titles. When the promotion launched earlier this year, they eschewed the sanctioning bodies and sought to declare their own champions. However, this move demonstrates a change of heart as their fighters will have the opportunity to compete for world titles outside of the promotion.
