CONOR BENN was reduced to tears as he went through the “hell” of shedding weight for his world title shot with Ryan Garcia.
The 29-year-old has not made the 10st 7lb limit since his April 2022 knockout win over Chris Algieri.
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And he struggled in April when he sweated down to 150lb for an underwhelming points win over Regis Prograis.
Benn even says that the battle to dehydrate down to 147lb is a bigger battle than the heavy-handed Californian in Los Angeles.
Before lifting up his vest to flash his abs, he said: “It has been four-and-a-half years since I made the weight.
“It’s genuinely been the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life.
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“This has been the fight, this is the real fight.
“It does feel like I have been through the pits of hell and had a fight with Satan and God has brought me back to life, that’s how it feels making this weight.
“But I have done it. And that’s it.
“I have been dieting for 15 weeks, I’ve been on a -1000 calories-a-day deficit.
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Garcia vs Benn – all the info
Ryan Garcia will make the first defence of his WBC welterweight title against British superstar Conor Benn THIS Saturday.
The blockbuster Las Vegas event is under the arm of Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing promotion.
Garcia, 28, captured his first world title in February by securing a dominant unanimous decision victory over Mario Barrios.
Benn, 29, is challenging for a world title for the first time in his professional career.
His sole professional defeat came against domestic rival Chris Eubank Jr in April 2025, a loss he quickly avenged with a dominant unanimous decision victory in their November 2025 rematch.
Benn enters the biggest bout of his life following a decisive points win over former world champion Regis Prograis in April, which marked his debut under Zuffa Boxing.
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“I have had emotional breakdowns in camp, I have been through hell.
“Sobbing and crying, couldn’t even get up the stairs.
“But I feel unbelievable now. It had to be hard then so it’s easy now.”
Former British boxer Carl Froch has predicted that the fight on Saturday will not last four rounds should Garcia fail to rise to the bout.
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“Benn’s not punching hard hard at anything below 160lb and we are going to find out about his punch resistance, because Garcia will clip him with a hook on the way in.
“Conor will leap in and leave his feet behind, because he will be all eager, and he will walk onto a hook.
“If he can take that, then he has a chance in the fight.
But, if Garcia starts wobbling early doors, the fight won’t go past four rounds.
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“Can Conor Benn hurt Ryan Garcia at 147lb? He does not look like an explosive puncher now.
“When he fought Prograis he could not hurt him over the 12 rounds, he should have hurt him, and got him out of there, with a statement, but he couldn’t hurt him.”