Eddie Hearn and Tony Bellew Pick Ryan Garcia to Beat Conor Benn
Eddie Hearn, Tony Bellew, and Versace Boxing all weighed in on Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn, and the blunt line from the clip was that someone is getting knocked out. The predictions matter because Benn challenges for Garcia’s WBC welterweight title on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena, and Hearn is saying it as the Briton’s former promoter.
The fight is Garcia’s first title defense and Benn’s first world-title shot. Garcia is 25-2 with 20 knockouts. Benn is 25-1 with 14 knockouts.
One forecast did not bother with rounds or scorecards. “He’ll get chinned!”
Hearn has been circling that same ending for months. He said he wants Benn to win because he is British, then said he does not think it happens at 147 pounds.
Asked if Benn gets stopped, Hearn did not dodge it. “I think that’s the likely scenario, yeah.”
That is not a throwaway. Hearn promoted Benn for years, then watched him leave for Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing. He has said Benn looked strong near 160 and looked short on power when he came down to beat Regis Prograis at a catchweight in April.
“I don’t think he’ll have the same chin at 147,” Hearn said. “I just don’t think at 147 he can win that fight.”
Bellew, a former WBC cruiserweight champion, still made Garcia the man to beat. He pointed to speed and the left hook as the reason the American is an overwhelming favorite.
He also left a door open. Bellew said the fight depends on which Garcia shows up, and that the version who lost to Rolando Romero in 2025 would not be enough.
Mentally, Bellew sided with Benn. He said Garcia has looked all over the place and that Benn is “so, so strong” after the years he has already survived in the sport.
That split is the whole preview. Garcia has the sharper tools. Benn has the harder head, at least on paper, and a weight cut that Hearn thinks takes the zip out of his punches.
Benn has not fought at the 147-pound limit in years. He went up for Chris Eubank Jr., came back for Prograis at 150, and is now making the full welterweight trip for a title. He has called the cut brutal and said he is not going to complain because the fight is a world title in Las Vegas.
Garcia has spent the week treating Benn as a step down, skipping a Tuesday face-off and calling him a beginner. He has also predicted he will not need 12 rounds.
Benn has predicted the opposite, saying he gets hold of Garcia and that it does not go the distance. Both men are picking a stoppage. The British voices on the prediction clip are mostly picking Garcia to land it.
Hearn’s history with Benn makes his take louder. He is not a random pundit. He is the man who built Benn’s career and is now saying the weight, the chin, and the level all point the other way.
Bellew is not burying Benn’s heart. He is saying heart might not beat a left hook if Garcia is locked in.
Saturday decides it. The weigh-in is Friday. If Benn is drained at 147, Hearn’s “likely scenario” is the one the building will remember. If Garcia is the unfocused version Bellew fears, the green belt can still change hands.