Ryan Garcia skips Benn face-off amid reports of own weight-cut issues

Ryan Garcia missed his first scheduled face-off with Conor Benn on Tuesday ahead of their WBC welterweight title fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday. Benn appeared without the champion at the fight-week photo opportunity, sharpening the focus on weight-cut questions around both fighters.

Garcia was due to attend the session but did not appear, leaving Benn to pose alone before his father, Nigel Benn, stepped in and jokingly squared up to him. After the brief exchange with the former world champion, Benn said Garcia “didn't turn up” and added: “I apologise for Ryan doing what Ryan does and bottling it. We turn up, we're here, ready for the face-off. Come Saturday, he's in for a war.”

The absence was quickly tied to Garcia’s own weight cut. Veteran reporter Dan Rafael posted: “Ryan Garcia blew off the scheduled face-off with Conor Benn on Tuesday. Was told he was mired in his weight cut and at the gym and skipped it. Benn showed up and looked good. ”

Garcia later responded on Instagram by mocking Benn for attending the face-off, writing: “Nice relaxing time as Conor wastes time showing up to a face-off. Back to the sauna you go, sausage getting cooked every way.” The two are still scheduled to meet at Thursday’s press conference and again at Friday’s weigh-in before Garcia defends the WBC title in Benn’s first world championship fight.

The timing of Garcia’s no-show is notable because much of the build-up has centred on Benn’s return to the welterweight limit. Benn has not boxed at 147lbs since stopping Chris van Heerden in two rounds in April 2022, having since fought Chris Eubank Jr twice at middleweight and met Regis Prograis at a 150lb catchweight in April.

Benn has already said this will be his final fight at welterweight. He has described the cut as “hard”, “brutal” and “excruciating”, but has also made clear he intends to complete it given the world title opportunity, the money involved and the scale of the Las Vegas fight.

Garcia has pushed back at Benn’s complaints, believing the challenger is already planting excuses and has forced himself into this position. Yet Garcia’s own recent history gives the late fight-week report added weight.

His December 2023 comeback against Oscar Duarte was originally scheduled for 140lbs before being increased to a 143lb catchweight at Garcia’s request, according to then-promoter Oscar De La Hoya. Garcia weighed 143lbs for that fight, then came in at 143.2lbs for his April 2024 bout with Devin Haney, 3.2lbs over the 140lb championship limit and therefore ineligible to win Haney’s WBC title.

Garcia has since boxed at welterweight, weighing 146.8lbs against Rolando Romero in May 2025 and 146.5lbs when he defeated Mario Barrios for the WBC title in February. There was also a minor administrative issue before the Barrios fight, with the WBC fining Garcia $5,000 for submitting his mandatory 14-day weight check late, although his actual weight of 154.2lbs was inside the permitted range.

Despite the latest report around Garcia’s cut, the WBC said on Monday that both Garcia and Benn had successfully completed their 30-day, 14-day and seven-day weight checks. The next test comes at the official weigh-in on Friday, after Thursday’s press conference offers the first chance this week for the champion and challenger to face each other in public.