Ryan Garcia made his point emphatically tonight, stopping Conor Benn in the second round of their highly-anticipated welterweight showdown in Las Vegas.
Garcia retained his WBC welterweight title with the victory, making a successful first defense of the belt he won earlier this year.
Benn (25-2, 14 KO) and Garcia (26-2, 21 KO) both came out with a lot of tense energy in the opening round, and looked to do what they do best, as Garcia wanted to use his speed to snipe Benn while moving around, hoping
to bait an aggressive Benn into walking onto a shot.
That happened in the second round, as Garcia dropped Benn with a laser right hand. It was clear that Benn’s legs were pretty much gone, but he got up and tried to continue on. Garcia wasn’t exactly sharpshooting, opting instead for a flurry of shots, and referee Thomas Taylor stepped in.
Zuffa commentator Max Kellerman and Andre Ward both argued that the stoppage was maybe a bit early, especially given Benn’s well-regarded toughness.
What did you think of the stoppage, and what did you think of Garcia’s performance? And that of Benn, for that matter?
