Ryan Garcia will defend his WBC welterweight world title against Conor Benn later this year, and four-time super-middleweight world champion Carl Froch has offered his latest thoughts on the fight.
Benn was last in the ring in a 150lbs catchweight contest against Regis Prograis, going the distance in a points triumph over the American former champion, who later revealed that he was carrying a number of injuries ahead of the fight.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Froch on Fighting, ‘The Cobra’ admitted that he has his doubts as to whether Benn has earned his position amongst some of boxing’s superstars.
“I am sceptical that he [Benn] even belongs at world level and I sincerely hope that he can do something at world level because he is an exciting talent. He is someone that I watch, he is very fit, fast, strong but he has not fought anybody, has he?
“His biggest win, and loss, was Chris Eubank Jr. and that is it really, [maybe] the Chris Algieri stoppage but Algieri was past his best. So, there is question marks around whether or not Conor Benn belongs in the ring with somebody like Ryan Garcia.”
When predicting the fight, Froch then revealed that he is leaning towards Garcia, but explained that he is excited to see whether Benn can silence his critics and vindicate his status as one of Britain’s biggest names.
“I don’t get excited about many fights but this one is exciting because you get to find out where Conor Benn belongs and does he belong at world level? Ryan Garcia, would you say that he is an elite level world champion? Obviously he has been down, he has been beat, but you have got to say that he is world-class.
“He is a WBC world champion, so this is a massive step up for Conor Benn. I’m not sure that it is a fight that he will win, he probably can win it, if he gets the tactics right, but it is a really, really tough ask. He is the underdog, I think that he is probably 70/30 against.”
The fight tops a bill at the T-Mobile Arena, and will reportedly see former cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia on the undercard.
