Ryan Garcia defended his WBC welterweight title with a two-round stoppage win over Conor Benn last weekend, and now two-division world champion Tim Bradley has named who believes to be the top dog in the 147lb scene.
Garcia needed less than five minutes to crush Benn’s dreams of capturing the coveted green and gold belt that his father once held, brutally flooring the Briton with a right-hand before stopping him upon his return to his feet.
Before the fight, promoter Dana White claimed that Garcia could become the ‘face of boxing’ if victorious and the Californian is hoping that he is within a couple of wins of doing just that, eyeing up title unifications with his fellow welterweight world champions Teofimo Lopez (WBA) and familiar foe Devin Haney (WBO).
Despite Garcia’s short but sweet display at the weekend, Bradley told his YouTube channel that Haney is still the man to beat as far as welterweights are concerned.
“Devin Haney is the best 147lber right now. That is who the best 147lber is, it’s Devin ‘The Dream’ damn Haney, it ain’t no damn Ryan Garcia! Y’all was tripping last night.”
Garcia famously defeated Haney back in 2024, but his majority-decision triumph was overturned to a no-contest soon after, following Garcia’s positive test for the banned substance, Ostarine.
Still, whilst a rematch between the two reigning world champions and fierce rivals remains as one of the most in-demand bouts in the sport, it is expected that Garcia will next pursue Lopez and that Haney will target IBF champion Liam Paro.
If both men are successful in becoming unified welterweight world champions, the pair could collide in a fascinating undisputed title showdown in late 2027.
