Paulie Malignaggi believes the upcoming battle between Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn will not be a competitive one.
After months of rumours, it was finally confirmed last week that Garcia will defend his WBC welterweight title against Benn at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on September 12.
It sees ‘King Ry’ make the maiden defence of his belt after winning it against Mario Barrios back in February, while Benn gets his inaugural world title shot as he prepares to return to 147lbs for the first time since April 2022.
While the fight has peaked the interest of many boxing fans, two-weight world champion Malignaggi isn’t one who appears too enthralled by the match-up.
Speaking to ProBox TV, Malignaggi began by claiming that the upcoming showdown is a ‘mismatch.’
“I think ultimately nobody is going to talk about how this is a mismatch. Only people on the inside know this fight is a mismatch… I don’t think it’s that great of a fight.”
He then went further and revealed he sees it being an extremely easy victory for Garcia.
“I think Ryan is going to beat the s**t out of this guy… The build-up will definitely entertain, but the fight ultimately will be a dud on fight night.”
Benn will likely have to put in a career-best performance if he is to come out on top, with his best wins to date coming when he beat Chris Eubank Jr in their middleweight rematch in November, before overcoming Regis Prograis in their 150lb catchweight bout in April.
