Garcia backs up talk, TKO's Benn in second round to retain WBC title

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  Brett OkamotoSep 12, 2026, 11:49 PM ET

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  Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.

LAS VEGAS -- Ryan Garcia promised he would need five rounds or less to knock out Conor Benn. He ended up needing just two.

Garcia (26-0, 21 KOs) recorded his fastest knockout in six years, finishing Benn (25-2, 14 KOs) at 1:25 of the second round Saturday night inside T-Mobile Arena. Referee Thomas Taylor ruled the WBC welterweight championship fight a TKO victory for Garcia after Benn was left virtually defenseless by shots along the ropes.

The win was Garcia's fastest since he scored a first-round knockout of Francisco Fonseca in February 2020.

Garcia, 28, defended the WBC title he captured against Mario Barrios in February for the first time and immediately called for unification bouts against WBA champion Teofimo Lopez and WBO champion Devin Haney.

"Teofimo, get that ass up here," Garcia told Lopez, who was in attendance. "We've got to clear this [division] out. I'll beat Devin Haney's ass again."