Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn, The Morning After: Zuffa Boxing’s $15 million man goes bust

Last night (Sept. 12, 2026), Ryan Garcia secured the first defense of his WBC Welterweight title by demolishing Conor Benn in just the second round of their main event boxing match. The fight went down from inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and streamed live on Paramount+ as one of the year’s biggest boxing events.

It’s all part of Zuffa Boxing’s takeover, their first “Super Fight” card on the network. A year or two ago, this would have been a pay-per-view (PPV) event hosted by the likes of Eddie Hearn and Oscar de la Hoya.

The actual fight wasn’t competitive. Benn forced the action from the first bell, chasing after the vaunted power puncher in reckless fashion. The commentators mentioned the fact that elite boxers do not begin fights this way without outright stating the obvious implication of that statement. In the opening 30 seconds alone, Garcia’s left hook — the famous knockout punch that he relies upon far too often — bounced off the face of his opponent at least twice.

Even when the left hook crashed into his gloves, Benn was stepping into it, creating a sonic force that could be felt through the tv screen.

Benn gamely tried to push through Garcia’s lead hand and box on the inside. For all of his aggression, however, did he land a single shot that caught Garcia’s attention? “King Ry” smothered or blocked most of his swings without issue. Meanwhile, he started timing Benn with uppercuts as well. Then, when Benn finally did weave beneath a left hook, Garcia walked him right into a lovely right hand.

Though the official stoppage came a few more flurries later, that right hand functionally ended the fight. It lasted a mere four-and-a-half minutes. Given Benn’s $15 million debut contract and subsequent extension (presumably worth many more millions), this was a very expensive 265 seconds for Zuffa Boxing.

Benn, quite simply, did not perform at all like a champion-level boxer. Perhaps all those UFC fighters who complained that Benn was overpaid had a point?

Despite the investment in Benn, it’s Ryan Garcia walks away as the star, the champion, and the world-class free agent. This was reportedly the second-to-last bout on his Golden Boy contract, meaning Zuffa Boxing will have to pay up if they want Garcia back on Paramount+. Maybe that was the longterm plan regardless — Garcia did enter the fight as a significant favorite after all — but is it good business for a budding promotion’s highly paid star to get outclassed?

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