Ryan Garcia-Conor Benn official for September 12 in Las Vegas

Ryan Garcia will make the first defence of his WBC welterweight title against Conor Benn on September 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The fight has been announced by the promoters and broadcasters involved, with Golden Boy Promotions and Zuffa Boxing co-promoting the event and Paramount+ carrying it globally, while DAZN will broadcast in the UK.

The confirmation ends a difficult build-up for a fight that had been targeted for months but became entangled in promotional and broadcast disputes before the parties came together. Garcia, 25-2 (20 KOs), had already pointed publicly to Benn as his next opponent during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, but the route to making the bout official proved more complicated than the usual title defence.

Garcia, 27, won the WBC belt in February with a wide unanimous decision over Mario Barrios, securing his first major world title after previously holding the WBC interim lightweight title in 2021. Benn, 29, is the WBC’s No. 1 contender at welterweight and will be challenging for a world title for the first time in his professional career.

Benn, 25-2-1 (14 KOs), enters the fight after a 10-round unanimous decision over former champion Regis Prograis in April. Before that, he avenged the only defeat of his career, outpointing Chris Eubank Jnr over 12 rounds in their November 2025 rematch after dropping him twice, following his decision loss to Eubank Jnr in April 2025.

Negotiations cleared after legal pressure

The official announcement follows a period in which Oscar De La Hoya said Golden Boy had not been properly approached over the proposed fight, despite Garcia being tied to promotional and broadcast arrangements that affected any bout involving him. De La Hoya’s position centred on Golden Boy’s and DAZN’s existing contract structure around Garcia, including a two-fight agreement signed with Turki Alalshikh in 2025, under which the Barrios fight was the first bout.

The disagreement intensified when Zuffa Boxing was expected to announce Garcia-Benn at UFC 328 in May. Golden Boy and DAZN were then drawn into the dispute, with at least two cease-and-desist orders reportedly sent to Zuffa Boxing and Paramount over the proposed event.

De La Hoya’s attorney alleged in a cease-and-desist letter that Golden Boy had not been involved in the financial dealings or negotiations for Garcia’s potential fight, despite its required role alongside King Ryan Promotions. DAZN also sent a cease-and-desist letter asserting that Garcia’s fights were contractually obligated to be shown by Golden Boy’s streaming partner rather than Paramount+.

Dana White said he did not know anything about a cease-and-desist letter allegedly sent by Golden Boy over Garcia-Benn, and made some disparaging comments about DAZN in interviews. Eddie Hearn later said White’s outburst against the streaming platform was prompted by DAZN issuing a cease-and-desist order against White for contacting Garcia, whom Hearn said was exclusively contracted to DAZN, and that White also received a similar order from Golden Boy and De La Hoya.

Benn’s side had continued to work as though the fight would proceed. On June 22, Keith Connolly said Benn’s team had signed for the Garcia fight and believed Garcia had also accepted, while acknowledging unresolved broadcast issues: “I mean, we’ve signed on our side. I think Ryan’s accepted it too. I think they’re working out some issues with the networks…. I have my guy signed for the fight and ready to go, and I think we’ll hear some positive news in the next couple of weeks.”

That positive movement has now arrived, with Golden Boy and Zuffa Boxing both attached to the promotion and DAZN retaining a role through the UK broadcast. This sidelines Zuffa’s UK partner, Sky Sports, which may explain why they have been accommodating and allowing the fight to be tied to Paramount in the US. The arrangement brings Garcia’s first title defence into focus after weeks in which the main question was less about whether both fighters wanted the fight and more about whether the relevant promotional and broadcast contracts could be aligned.

Garcia and Benn have traded words for months, but the announcement moves the bout from negotiation and legal positioning into a title fight with immediate consequences at welterweight. Garcia will defend the WBC belt for the first time, while Benn gets his first opportunity to turn contender status into a world championship.

The next phase will focus on the official promotion of the September 12 event and the buildup in Las Vegas, with Garcia-Benn now positioned as a significant cross-platform fight involving several parties that have been in conflict.