BoxRec

Looks like it's working, the fight is selling really well

Am I the only one who thinks Benn is underrated? He’s very busy, relentless and determined. Especially with the eggs diet. Garcia is very erratic too

JamesPhilips wrote: ↑01 Aug 2026, 15:30 Am I the only one who thinks Benn is underrated? He’s very busy, relentless and determined. Especially with the eggs diet. Garcia is very erratic too

I wouldn't be surprised to see a competitive fight here I'll say that much. The reason I'm favoring Garcia so much has as much to do with Benn coming back down to 147 as it does their skill sets.

The man coming DOWN in weight is almost always at a disadvantage, and if all else is equal or near equal giving yourself a disadvantage of that sort gets you beat.

Although promoters Sampson Lewkowicz & Don King made a deal for David Benavidez-Noel Mikaelian 3-belt cruiserweight unification fight for November, Mikaelian, I am told, did not agree, has (or will) sign with Zuffa (probable Opetaia opponent), & King likely will sue. Typical #boxing.

ANNOUNCED: Jai Opetaia will defend his Ring and Zuffa cruiserweight world titles against Noel Mikaelian in the co-main event of Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn.

#GarciaBenn l Sept 12th in Las Vegas

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑Yesterday, 16:06 ANNOUNCED: Jai Opetaia will defend his Ring and Zuffa cruiserweight world titles against Noel Mikaelian in the co-main event of Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn.

#GarciaBenn l Sept 12th in Las Vegas

I initially read that as "Jai Opetaia will defend his Ring and Zuffa cruiserweight world titles against Conor Benn" which really cheered me up

Ryan Garcia warned that 'consistent' Conor Benn could cause an upset on September 12

Conor Benn is an early 3-to-1 underdog to upset Ryan Garcia when they meet for the latter’s WBC welterweight title in Las Vegas on September 12.

Garcia, currently 1-to-4 on to win, is being warned to take the challenge from the Englishman seriously, however.

The champion, 25-2 (20 KOs), put a difficult period of his life behind him in February when he outpointed Mario Barrios to win the title. Yet there are signs, six weeks out from battle, that Garcia might not be as focused as he should be.

There's tit-for-tat with the retired Terence Crawford, there’s the posting of betting slips for large amounts of money, and the typical fascination with social media. Benn, meanwhile, appears to be locked in on the task at hand as the Englishman, more than four years after he last made 147lbs, cuts a typically determined figure.

Teddy Atlas, who has worked with fighters like Mike Tyson, Shannon Briggs, Timothy Bradley, and Michael Moorer in the past, is concerned that Garcia’s habit of not keeping his emotions in check could work in the 25-1 (14 KOs) Benn’s favor.

“Garcia has always been influenced, maybe more than most fighters, on a mental and emotional basis,” Atlas told CanadaCasino. “He is very talented, but unless he is right mentally and emotionally, that talent doesn’t really equate into anything special.

“It doesn’t get used in a way where it shows itself to mean something. Garcia is probably in a better place now mentally than he had been for a while, but does he stay in that place? That’s the big question with Garcia. He is very mercurial when it comes to his emotions. They move all over the place. As a trainer and as someone who has been in the sport my whole life, that would be my concern.

“At the end of the day, I usually go towards consistency. Garcia fights in spurts. They can be great spurts, don’t get me wrong, but they are spurts. Benn is not as flashy or spectacular in those spurts, but he is more consistent throughout the night with his offence.

“In the mental area, Benn probably gets a little bit of an edge. He seems, good or bad, to be more consistent with his offensive output than Garcia. It’s a tough one to pick, but because of what I just broke down, I might possibly be on the side of Benn.”

Promotional tug of war as Jai Opetaia and David Benavidez jostle over Noel Mikaelian

The future of Noel Mikaelian’s reign as WBC cruiserweight champion became tenuous Tuesday with Zuffa Boxing announcing he will fight its champion, Jai Opetaia of Australia, September 12 in Las Vegas.

The Zuffa announcement came minutes after the sole promoters for WBO/WBA cruiserweight champion David Benavidez and Mikaelian told Boxing Scene they have signed a contract for a December 12 unification between Benavidez and Mikaelian in Glendale, Arizona.

Delivering his patented laugh, Mikaelian's promoter Don King told Boxing Scene, “Well, [Mikaelian] has a signed contract with me. I love Noel, and I hope he does the right thing.”

King said Mikaelian sought a specific financial figure to fight Benavidez, and the promoter delivered.

“He [Mikaelian] wanted $1 million, and I got him $1 million,” King said of Mikaelian, 28-3 (12 KOs), who captured the belt in December by defeating Badou Jack by decision.

Sampson Lewkowicz, the CEO of Sampson Boxing, which promotes Phoenix’s three-division champion Benavidez, 32-0 (26 KOs), said his fighter was to sign the fight agreement for Mikaelian in short order.

As for Mikaelian, while King says the fighter is bound to honor the promoter’s negotiations, Lewkowicz said before the Zuffa announcement that there were persistent industry rumors Mikaelian was returning to negotiate for an Opetaia bout after first doing so in the spring, when officials told BS a deal was in the final stages.

Opetaia will fight on the September 12 card headlined by new WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia versus England’s No. 1 contender Conor Benn at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“I’m not too worried about that,” King said about the prospect of Mikaelian potentially avoiding Benavidez before the Zuffa fight announcement. “We’re trying to bring the electricity back to boxing with this unification.

“He might be considering something from people with good intentions, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Lewkowicz and King both said if Mikaelian moves away from the Benavidez fight, the grounds for a lawsuit exist because of Mikaelian’s signed ties to King.

The 35-year-old Armenian said in a prepared statement from Zuffa: “When I step into the ring on September 12 against Jai Opetaia in Las Vegas, I intend to defend my [WBC] world championship. This is the fight I’ve wanted since becoming a two-time world champion, and I’m ready to deliver. I haven’t fought since December 2025 because of circumstances outside of my control. I refused to stay inactive. Champions are meant to defend their titles, and that’s exactly what I’m prepared to do.”

His manager, Anthony Girges, said in a prepared statement: “My job has always been to put Noel in the best position to succeed. More than 60 days after Noel vs. David Benavidez was ordered, we still haven’t received a bona fide offer. Noel wasn’t going to sit on the sidelines any longer. This isn’t just about two champions in Noel and Opetaia. It’s about protecting the integrity of the sport and making the fights the fans deserve.”

Benavidez also stands as the WBC light-heavyweight champion, and that position afforded him the opportunity to petition for a WBC cruiserweight title shot, which WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman granted in May.

If Mikaelian opts to fight Opetaia, the expectation is he will be stripped of the WBC belt and Benavidez would have the chance to fight the next fighter in line, Poland’s Michal Cieslak, for a third 200lbs belt.