Conor Benn is preparing for his September 12 showdown against WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia in Las Vegas while openly complaining about a brutal weight cut. Squeezing back down to 147 pounds gives Benn an instant excuse if he suffers defeat.
Benn is hunting Ryan Garcia’s world title in Las Vegas, but he is already sounding the alarm over his gruelling training camp. He has not fought at the welterweight limit in four full years. Squeezing his body back down after massive bouts up at 183 pounds against Chris Eubank Jr. is proving to be a pure nightmare. Benn made no secret of his physical struggles when discussing the clash.
He admitted: “Yeah, it’s hard. It’s brutal. This is my last fight at 147,”
Benn did not stop there, laying out the full physical toll of stripping off the weight for championship gold. He added: “When I win the world title, I’ll move on. But for me, yeah, I haven’t made 147 for four years. So, it’s challenging. Don’t get me wrong, it’s really hard. You think I went up to 183 for the Eubank fights, you know, so it’s hard, but we’re getting it done.”
Nobody forced Benn to accept this weight cut. He wants Garcia’s WBC strap, plain and simple.
Benn insists his work ethic separates him from Garcia, even predicting he will stop the champion inside the distance. Still, putting so much public attention on his weight cut creates a safety net before a single punch is thrown in Sin City. If squeezing down leaves him weak on fight night, his team knew the danger when signing the contract. Beating Garcia after four years away from the division would make his victory look legendary. But if the move back to 147 backfires, Benn cannot use the scales to strip Garcia of full credit afterward.
