Ryan Garcia picked up a crushing knockout victory of Conor Benn on Saturday in Las Vegas, marking the first successful defense of Garcia's reign as WBC welterweight champion. Making Garcia's performance even more impressive, he didn't even need two rounds to get the win.
As expected, Garcia was looking for his trademark left hook early in the fight, and he landed it several times in the opening moments. And, also as expected, Benn was willing to take punches and continue walking forward, trying to find a way to land his own big shots.
With the opening round fought at a fast pace, and both men using near-constant movement, it appeared fans would get an answer to how each fighter's weight cut would affect them as the rounds ticked by.
Then, Garcia decided there was no need to test anyone's gas tank.
A bomb of a right hand landed for Garcia in Round 2, dropping Benn to the canvas.
Benn managed to rise to his feet, but was still clearly compromised from the shot. Garcia smelled blood in the water and unloaded his arsenal as Benn was trapped against the ropes.
With Benn no longer fighting back, the referee was forced to waive off the fight at the 1:25 mark of the second round.
Just as Garcia had done in his title-winning effort against Mario Barrios, his right hand proved to be the difference-maker after a career built on his trademark left hook.
"I've always had a right hand, but I always had injuries," Garcia said after his win. "These are the first two fights I've had no injuries to my right hand."
After the fight, Garcia was quick to call out another young, brash and popular fighter in Teofimo Lopez. In his most recent fight, Lopez won the WBA welterweight belt with a majority decision over Rolando "Rolly" Romero, who defeated Garcia in May 2025.
Garcia called Lopez to the ring, which led to Lopez and his entourage scuffling with ringside security before being held out of the ring.
Garcia then turned his attention to a former rival in Devin Haney, calling for a future rematch.
"We gotta clear this shit out. Hopefully we get to beat Devin Haney's ass again for undisputed. F--- the Haneys."
Garcia beat Haney in April 2024 but missed weight ahead of the fight, meaning he did not win the WBC junior welterweight title on that night. The result was then overturned to a no contest after it was revealed that Garcia had failed multiple drug tests around the fight.
In the co-main event, Jai Opetaia shined through in dispatching of Noel Mikaelian to retain his cruiserweight title. Opetaia had to fight through some adversity as Mikaelian managed to land clean on him throughout the nine rounds of action. But Opetaia dished out some damage of his own and it reached a boiling point in the ninth round when a brutal left hook had Mikaelian hanging on the ropes to keep him up. The referee soon thereafter waved off the fight. Afterwards, Opetaia respectfully called out WBC champion David Benavidez to set up a unification. All parties agreed to move forward in trying to make it a reality.
CBS Sports was you throughout the entire way on Saturday with live results and highlights below.
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garcia (c) | 10 | TKO | 10 | ||||||||||
| Benn | 9 | 9 |
Garcia continues to get off first with that lightning left hand. Good counter combo from Garcia makes Benn back up. Garcia lands a right to the body. Down goes Benn on a big right hand! Benn stands up by Garcia is teeing off along the ropes. He's ferocious. Big punches connect and Taylor jumps in to save Benn!
Thomas Taylor is the referee. Short, slapping left hook for Garcia. And another, which causes Benn to take a step back. Things are tense and Garcia's speed is electric. Benn jabs to the body. Good defense from Garcia. Lead right hand hits for Garcia. Benn begins to establish the jab. Both fighters are very busy and very tight. Short left hand for Garcia. Benn goes to the body from the clinch. Good three-punch combo from Garcia in the center of the ring. Garcia covers up to block a flurry from Benn in return. Garcia with a big right to the body late. Good opening round for the champ.
Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) makes the first defense of his WBC welterweight title against the British star Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) in the main event.
Benavidez, the unified champion, enters the ring to shake hands with Opetaia as they tease a future showdown.
Clean counter jabs from Opetaia. Short left hand from Jai off the clinch. Big combo from the clinch and Mikaelian is hurt. And Dock rules it a knockdown when the ropes held Noel up! And Dock stops the fight after looking into the eyes of Mikaelian!
Hard step jabs from Opetaia. Beautiful counter right combo from Jai. Mikaelian is just not busy enough. He's too calculated and is getting countered routinely. Opetaia warned for a flurry of shots on the belt line. Mikaelian takes time to recover in the corner after Dock calls for time. Good infighting from both but Jai remains busier. Mikaelian keeps coming up short with the right hand. A big part of that is Opetaia's footwork and defense tonight.
Stiff jab from Mikaelian earns him a stiff left counter in return. Opetaia land a jab and gets countered by a big right that forces Opetaia to hold! Mikaelian slips to his knees but it's not ruled a knockdown. Good left cross from Opetaia, who seems to have his legs back under him. Opetaia unloads from the clinch and backs Mikaelian up to the ropes. Good defense from Jai to smother a pair of hard right hands. Opetaia has completely turned this round around.
Mikaelian is going to need to make an adjustment here before these rounds continue play out the same. They are both landing but Opetaia is far busier. The round devolves to plenty of holding but Opetaia is landing better punches. Good body flurry, too. Opetaia takes a step back to slip a punch and counter with a quick combo. Opetaia digs to the body late.
Opetaia works behind the jab. Nice left hook for the Aussie. Mikaelian is hanging in but can't seem to land more than one punch at a time. Good body work from Jai as Opetaia continues to get the better of the clinch fighting. Counter left hand from Opetaia. Hard jab from Mikaelian but he gets warned for rabbit punching in the clinch. Quick flurry from Opetaia on the inside. Sneaky right hand from Mikaelian. They trade short shots late in the clinch.
Mikaelian sneaks in a pair of counter right hands. Back comes Opetaia with a left hand. Big left hand lands clean for Opetaia but referee Harvey Dock warns Jai for holding with his off hand. Big uppercut inside from Opetaia and now a left hand. This is a strong turn for the Australian. Short left inside from Jai after going to the body. Opetaia is really showing the full package this round. Short punches from Opetaia inside while he held with his offhand brings another warning.
Mikaelian keeps using feints to hold Opetaia's output down. But Jai sneaks in a left cross. Opetaia's high guard remains on point each time Mikaelian decides to open up. Beautiful counter right hand from Mikaelian landed on the chin of Opetaia. Mikaleian flurries on the inside. Good punching. Back comes Opetaia with a right hand and Noel counters back with one of his own. Good trading late and it was Mikaelian's right hand that landed cleanest. Opetaia grazes Noel with a pair of left hands but nothing flush.
Good left hand from the southpaw Opetaia on the inside. Opetaia now has swelling around his left eye from the accidental head clashes. Mikaelian flurries to the body. Quick combo from Opetaia that began with a left to the body and ended with a right upstairs. Both men remain sound defensively with their high guard. Opetaia continues to get off nicely from the clinch. He's simply busier than Mikaelian. Now, they trade punches from the clinch. Good left hand from Opetaia. Mikaelian answers with a clean right before the bell.
Left cross from Opetaia lands to get us going. Hard body shot from Jai. Mikaelian lands a jab but instantly gets countered. Noel remains very patient. Both fighters showing good defense as they feel each other out. Good body work from Opetaia in the clinch after an accidental clash of heads. Short left hand caught Mikaelian coming in. Very good work from Opetaia in the clinch as Mikaelian held his left arm and Jai unloaded with his right. Good right hand from Mikaelian late after another head clash.
The co-main event is upon us as Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs), the former IBF titleholder and current RING and Zuffa champion, takes on the WBC titleholder Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KOs) in a matchup between two of the best cruiserweights in the world.
Vanhouter: "This is what I wanted to do. That's why I signed on here. I signed on to become the best and that's why I am here."
Akpejiori is a former college basketball player who even had a tryout with the NFL. Akpejiori jabs to the body but the big-punching Vanhouter comes right back and is lighting him up with power shots early. Big overhand right from Vanhouter wobbles him to force a clinch. Big combo hurts Akpejori and a right hand floors him. Akpejiori beats the count but he's wobbly. Vanhouter is punching him from pillar to post. Ref calls time after Vanhouter fell to his knees and looks like he injured his shoulder during the clinch. But back comes Vanhouter to floor him again and the fight is called!
Vanhouter (12-0, 9 KOs), a 21-year-old heavyweight who turned pro at 155 pounds in 2022, takes on the 35-year-old veteran Akepejiori (19-8, 18 KOs) from Nigeria in an 8-round bout.
Cortes scores a unanimous decision win to remain undefeated.
After an incredibly strong start as he pressured Magsayo and worked behind the jab, Cortes began to slow over the final three rounds after absorbing a cut above his right eye. Good rally from Magsayo but there wasn't enough to put Cortes in danger beyond a brief wobble in Round 9.
The final round begins with Magsayo looking like the fresher fighter as he goes on the attack. Cortes flurries to the body while Magsayo held him. Good combo from Magsayo. He has regained control of this fight late but appears to have run out of time. They go the distance.
Cortes is timing counter right hands cleanly. Cortes ducks a winging left hand that causes Magsayo to stumble halfway across the ring. Good defense from both fighters. Magsayo lands a combo to the body. Magsayo briefly wobbles Cortes with a quick left hook. They trade shots on the inside late.
Magsayo lands a right to the body but eats an instant counter. Cortes has simply been bigger, busier and more accurate up to this point. Good hook from Magsayo on the inside and now Cortes is cut above his right eye. Cortes eats an uppercut but counters with a right hand. This might be Magsayo's best round of the fight, overall. Good work late.
Magsayo falls to a knee after eating a body shot but Ruiz instantly rules it wasn't a knockdown, to the dismay of Cortes. Magsayo is letting his hands go with combinations but Cortes's defense is too strong. Good lead right from Magsayo. He leaped in to land that one. Magsayo with a right hand to the body. Cortes comes back with volume to regain control. Clean shots from Cortes. Closer round but Cortes continues to be better.
Magsayo lands an uppercut to the body. Much better start for the Filipino with constant pressure. Cortes answers with a stiff uppercut on the inside. Magsayo simply can't fight on the inside on the same level as Cortes. That's becoming an extended problem the more physical this fight gets in the clinch. Cortes catches an errant elbow to the forehead in close. Great job by Cortes to go back to the jab to establish control. Cortes is really relying on his technique and amateur experience here to make Magsayo pay for mistakes.
Cortes is very aggressive, once again. Good jabs and a consistent ability to get inside. Magsayo is overextending and getting caught for his poor technique with counter shots. Lead left hook from Cortes lands clean. Strong round built behind the jab.
Instant replay strikes once again as Magsayo taking a knee was overruled between rounds.
Good pressure again from Cortes. Big counter right hand catches Magsayo reaching. Ruiz warns Cortes for being too physically and pushing him as he comes forward. Magsayo warned by Ruiz for holding. And down goes Magsayo on an overhand right. Magsayo took a knee after being hit. Big turn of events for Cortes after the knockdown was overruled last round. (Knockdown was overruled between rounds).
The ringside commission, after watching instant replay, changed the decision of the referee on Magsayo taking a knee.
Cortes doing a nice job being the aggressor early. Good lead right hand. Cortes backs him up with clean shots. Nice right hand from Magsayo to get himself out of the corner but he remains under pressure this round. Short punches on the inside from Cortes, who is also winning the physical battle when they wrestle on the inside. And Magsayo's glove hit the canvas after a body shot. It's ruled a knockdown by referee Celestino Ruiz (later overturned).
