Conor Benn has made a costly mistake

LAS VEGAS — Ryan Garcia dismissed Conor Benn in the ring and then delivered another verbal blow afterwards in the post-fight press conference.

“I did not feel his power,” Garcia said, sitting with the glittering WBC welterweight title he just defended against the British fighter in ruthless fashion in the second round of their Las Vegas showdown.

“I could not feel the size, not at all,” he added with another shot to the gut.

Benn had promised to breeze through the American, but he was blown away himself and now his career is at a crossroads.

Where does he go after this? The gulf in class was evident from the first bell and another world title shot seems very far off in the distance.

The 29-year-old had said before Saturday that he was planning to move up in weight to either 160lbs or 168lbs because of a struggle to get under the welterweight limit.

Yet if Garcia, a brilliant fighter but someone who was once small enough to make super-featherweight, was not concerned by his power then why would bigger men be at risk of it?

Benn may argue without draining himself to 147lbs, he may be stronger and point to the fact he put down Chris Eubank Jr – who watched on from ringside – on his way to winning their second fight last year.

But he is not a huge welterweight as it is and Eubank Jr was an ageing faded force drained by making middleweight himself.

The trilogy may be an option but where the money comes for that now given the status of both their careers is a serious question.

Their second fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was not as big as the first. Is there a thirst for a third?

Zuffa Boxing boss Dana White did not offer much insight when he was questioned afterwards about where Benn goes from here. They overpaid to snatch him from Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom but his stock has severely dropped since. It could be a costly show of financial muscle.

Benn signed a long-term lucrative deal with the Saudi Arabia and TKO-backed firm earlier this year, but it feels like the bubble burst when Garcia landed a right hand on his chin in the second round.

The stoppage happened soon after, but before that Benn offered little to trouble Garcia or give people belief in him that he can become a world champion.

The amount of times he got clipped by Garcia’s well-known left hook while rushing in was startling.

Benn’s head movement is often just for show rather than having a purpose as he does it out of range.

But here Garcia timed right uppercuts when Benn dipped down and even the punch which sent him over was helped by the latter dropping his head.

It was something the American even noted in his press conference afterwards.

“I hope he comes back and does great things,” Garcia added. There are big doubts if that will be possible.

Benn was taken to hospital as a precaution afterwards so did not speak to the media.

He offered a short post on social media site X which said he had “no excuses”.

His words beforehand were bold and brash about his chances and he will no doubt be confident he can bounce back.

But where do Zuffa Boxing go with Benn? He needs to rebuild, but his purses will be of a level which makes it difficult for him to do that out of the main spotlight.

As mentioned, the Eubank Jr fight would not be easy to put together.

There is also the question of what Benn will really look like against middleweights who are fresher than Eubank Jr given those two bouts are his only time at the weight.

Super-middleweight seems a bit daft, given the jump would be over 20lbs. Canelo Alvarez is one of the best in the 12st division and looks a different animal to Benn.

This performance followed a flat one against another aged and past-their-best opponent Regis Prograis, so it was not just an off night.

On the other hand, Garcia has the world at his feet again. This was an electric performance amid a raucous atmosphere in the T-Mobile Arena on Mexican Independence weekend on the famous Strip.

There could be a unification with Teofimo Lopez, the WBA champion at welterweight, or maybe a rematch with Devin Haney, which has plenty of bad blood after Garcia’s win against him was overturned because the Californian failed two drug tests for the banned substance ostarine.

Benn’s road to the top is now a lot longer and we wait to see if he will ever complete the journey or if this will be the biggest stage he ever gets to.