Benn says he is healthy during demanding cut for Garcia title fight

Conor Benn says he is healthy despite describing his return to the welterweight limit as the hardest weight cut of his career. BBC Sport reported that the 29-year-old Briton must weigh no more than 10st 7lb, or 67kg, on Friday before challenging WBC champion Ryan Garcia at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFrEJ9O-Br0

The bout will be Benn's first world title fight in a 10-year professional career. He has not competed at the welterweight limit for more than four years, last making it when he stopped Chris van Heerden in the second round in April 2022. Benn told BBC Sport the process had been extremely difficult but said he understood the demands when accepting the fight.

Benn moved up to 11st 6lb, or 73kg, for two fights with Chris Eubank Jr in 2025. He suffered his first professional defeat in their April contest before winning the rematch on points seven months later. His return to welterweight has prompted concern from some observers, including former world champion Carl Froch and former Benn opponent Chris Algieri, about whether the cut could leave him depleted.

Benn rejected those concerns and said he expects to rehydrate substantially after the weigh-in, estimating that he will enter the ring at around 12st 7lb, or 80kg. He also said that if he wins the belt, he intends to vacate it immediately and return to middleweight, with super-middleweight another possible destination.

Garcia, 28, gave BBC Sport a sharply different assessment of his own preparation, saying his weight cut had been easy. The American champion also missed a scheduled face-off at Mandalay Bay on Tuesday, explaining that he wanted to maintain his routine and train rather than attend another promotional confrontation.

Benn still appeared for the face-off and jokingly squared up with his father, former two-weight world champion Nigel Benn. He later criticized Garcia's absence as lacking professionalism but said it would not affect him. With the official weigh-in still to come, Benn's fitness at the 147-pound limit remains the immediate requirement before his first attempt to win a world championship.