JOSH TAYLOR has warned Ryan Garcia of the dangers in underestimating Conor Benn.
Garcia defends his WBC welterweight world title against British challenger Benn on Saturday in Las Vegas.
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And the American has been scathing of Benn’s ability and credibility heading into the Sin City showdown.
Taylor was in a similar position in 2022 when he talked down the challenge of Jack Catterall – before winning a highly-controversial decision.
The Scot then lost the rematch two years later and fears Garcia could be falling down the same overconfident path.
Taylor, 35, said on SunSport’s No Glove Lost episode: “I think Conor Benn seems to be the one that’s a little bit more mentally switched on and tuned into this fight, he seems to be dialed in.
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“What I’ve seen from Ryan is a little bit of clowning around and stuff like that, but that might just be him on the press conferences and messing around.
“But I know the power of underestimating your opponent. I’ve experienced it, I’ve done it, I’ve experienced it firsthand.
“So, if Ryan’s mindset is of that, that he’s that much better than Conor, that he doesn’t pose any threat, then that’s dangerous, he might turn up not fully prepared, fully mentally prepared, fully switched on.
“And that can be very dangerous when Conor’s fully switched on to win that world title.”
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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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Benn drops down to welterweight for the first time in FOUR YEARS following two middleweight mega-fights with Chris Eubank Jr last year.
Eubank, 36, won the initial thriller before Benn, 29, avenged the loss in their November rematch.
He returned in April with a laboured ten-round decision win over Regis Prograis – leaving Taylor doubting his chances against 28-year-old champ Garcia.
He said: “I’ve got Conor Benn as a massive underdog.
“He’s not even fought for a British title, and he’s fighting for a WBC world championship, which is due to his name and his surname, really.
“So you can see why people are sort of kinda upset about it, but at the same time, he’s huge commercially, but does that merit a shot at the world title?
“And just going off his last performance as well against Regis Prograis, who was 37 years old, riddled with injuries and couldn’t do nothing with him.
“I just thought it was a very, very underwhelming performance from him, to then go in against Ryan Garcia, who’s a fully fledged world level opponent and world champion in his own right.
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“I think Conor Benn, and rightly so, is going in as a massive underdog on the bookies and the experts and pundits as well.”