Conor Benn must prove he belongs on the world stage in this weekend’s fight against Ryan Garcia, but the WBC champion could be too quick and too sharp, says Sky Sports pundit Johnny Nelson.
Benn will challenge for his first world title when he faces Garcia for the WBC welterweight belt at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The Californian took out Mario Barrios to become the new WBC champion in February, having previously fought elite champions such as Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis.
But Nelson is refusing to rule out a stunning win for Benn.
“Never say never,” Nelson told Sky Sports. “Right now, it seems like an impossible mountain to climb because Conor Benn hasn’t answered the questions that beg to be answered. Has he got that depth of experience? He hasn’t. Can he dig deep? We know he can. Is he the level of a fighter? That’s a question we don’t know the answer to.
“What we do know is, historically, this has happened time and time again. Lloyd Honeyghan going to America and winning the world title shocked everyone. Conor’s father, Nigel Benn, goes by and beats Iran Barkley. You know, Barkley had a bit of a name for himself; could nigel do it? He did it and he did it after being knocked out by Michael Watson.
“So because the style is probably so rough and tough, you’d think, has this kid (Conor Benn) got the class to become a world champion and be, apparently, a class?
“It’s just got to be his night. Obviously, you’ll understand people leaning toward Ryan Garcia because Garcia’s proven. Conor’s not. So you’re going to give a guy a chance to prove himself, not write him off.”
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Gary Logan and Joe Gallagher agree that Ryan Garcia could be complacent against Conor Benn and any lapses in focus could cost him dearly.
Benn moved up to middleweight to settle his rivalry with Chris Eubank Jr, losing the first fight on points before avenging the loss with a dominant scorecard victory in the rematch.
The 29-year-old endured a tough weight cut to get down to 147kg for the Garcia fight, but Nelson insists the all-action Briton will be a ‘machine’ in the ring.
“I don’t believe the weight is going to take away the armor,” Nelson said. “It will definitely take away the natural strength he had at a higher weight.
“He’s not going to be completely poor. I think he’s still going to be a machine. He’s going to be faster. He’s not going to be stronger. I think he’s going to have the speed, but he’s not going to have the strength that he showed when we saw Eubank Jr. box.
“I think the speed creates power and the attrition, the number of strikes he throws, is blistering.
“We’ve seen him take people out before; we’ve seen him take people out shockingly.
“But I think speed creates power and it’s navigating it. It’s about how he goes about it.”
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Conor Benn and Ryan Garcia exchanged heated words and then had to be separated by security during their Zuffa press conference and showdown.
Benn knocked Eubank Jr twice in their second fight, while he also destroyed former world champion Chris Algieri, but Nelson believes Garcia will be a much more challenging proposition.
“This is graduation day for Conor Benn,” Nelson said. “I expect Garcia to be a class above. I expect Garcia to take Conor seriously and I expect him to come out and be fast, sharp and dominant.
“So this is for Ryan Garcia to lose, because if there’s any smack of arrogance, smugness or disdain from him in regards to Conor, that’s going to be his reckoning. That’s going to be his downfall.
“This is one of those fights where you have to be on your A game. Ryan Garcia has to go in there and respect Conor. What I’ve seen and what I’ve heard doesn’t tell me that; he thinks this is easy work.
“It could just be a talk. It could be a fight talk, but I hope he’s taking Conor seriously because if he hasn’t, he’s giving a man a chance that, on paper, shouldn’t get one.”
