Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn Live Updates From Tonight's Ceremonial Weigh-In

He's been a high-profile fighter for a while, but it's just the third top-tier title fight for Ryan Garcia.

He had a 140-pound title fight against Devin Haney but lost a chance to win the title in advance when he missed weight. He then beat Mario Barrios to win the WBC belt at 147 that he'll try to defend against Benn.

"I'm going to do my job," he said, "and whoop a**."

Analyst Keith Thurman is impressed enough.

"He's getting more confident. He's still a young champion," said Thurman, a former two-belt champion in the weight class. "Every single fight he's getting better and better."

But fellow analysts Shakur Stevenson and Andre Ward referenced Garcia's loss to Gervonta Davis in 2023, when he took a knee and stayed on the canvas in Round 7.

"We've seen Ryan Garcia wave the white flag," Ward said. "I've never seen Conor Benn do that."

Benn said he's done the hard part already.

"Making weight was an absolute beast but we're here now," he said. "I've been through the depths of hell but came back to life."

It's been a long, chatty buildup with Ryan Garcia backing up his reputation as a microphone- and camera-friendly fighter, while Conor Benn continued to emerge from the shadow of his father, former two-division champion Nigel Benn.

They weighed 145.5 pounds (Garcia) and 146 pounds (Benn) on Friday, putting to rest any concern that the fight was in peril if Benn, who's fought heavier men recently, wouldn't be able to make the 147-pound limit.

And then they faced off one last time before Saturday's pre-fight instructions.

Garcia strode to the stage wrapped in an American flag alongside his young daughter, then stripped off his shirt, jogged to the scale, grabbed the flag again, and headed toward Benn.

He bounced up and down during the face-off while Benn stood still as a statue.

"We'll see Saturday night how good I really feel," Benn said.

Then it was Garcia's turn, though it was tame by his standards.

"Tomorrow night is going to be a continuation of the reign I have right now," he said. "I'm a world champion and it's gonna stay that way tomorrow night."

The 10 fighters in five bouts on the undercard came to the stage, stepped on the scale and quickly left after a handshake with Dana White and a brief face-off with their foe.

But the eight fighters on the main card got a little more screen time.

Lightweights Mark Magsayo and Andres Cortes weighed 134.5 and 135 pounds, respectively, in advance of their 10-rounder. And heavyweights Da'Mazion Vanhouter and Raphael Akpejiori were 231.5 and 246 pounds, respectively, ahead of their eight-rounder.

Cortes was instantly chatty and had to be held back (sort of) by White, while Vanhouter and Ekpejiori cordially shook hands both before and after their face-off.

Unbeaten Jai Opetaia, who'll defend his Zuffa title for the first time in his 10th career championship bout, was 199 pounds compared to an even 200 for challenger—and reigning WBC champion (for now, at least)—Noel Mikaelian.

Opetaia and Mikaelian shook hands twice, too.

"I'm ready to get to work on this guy," Opetaia said.

Conor Benn has suggested Ryan Garcia isn't a serious fighter.

Says he's an influencer more than a fighter.

Garcia, not surprisingly, disagrees. And analyst—and Hall of Famer—Andre Ward says it'll take more than simply winning for "King Ry" to prove his point.

"To be a champion in this sport," Ward said, "you've got to own this kind of night."

Far be it from us to spoil the surprises, but everyone on the main card made weight earlier on the day on Friday but they'll come back for the cameras and microphones tonight.

And Conor Benn is looking to make an international statement.

"He's tough. He's rugged. He always comes in shape," analyst Andre Ward said. "But he wants to be a star here in the United States. A win (Saturday) puts him in that position."

Here's Saturday's main card, to be streamed by Paramount+ at 8 p.m. ET.

Don King is 95 years old.

But the electric-haired promoter still has some fight in him.

King's promotional client, Noel Mikaelian, will take on Jai Opetaia in Saturday's co-man event but his man's WBC title belt will not be on the line.

Mikaelian rejected what King told BoxingScene was a $1 million offer to fight David Benavidez to instead meet Opetaia, who holds the new Zuffa Boxing title, activating what he says is a contractual clause that allows him to negotiate other deals.

The WBC is expected to strip his title, but no decision was announced as of Friday.

Both Conor Benn and Ryan Garcia successfully made weight at the official goings-on, clearing the way for Friday's ceremonial weigh in.

Garcia weighed a trim 145.5 pounds and Benn was comfortably under the 147-pound limit at 146.

Judging by a muscle-pocked abdomen, Conor Benn looks ready.

But the Englishman admitted he'd been through the "pits of hell" and "had a fight with Satan" while dropping weight over the last 15 months and trying to approach the 147-pound limit for Saturday's fight, having not hit that number or below since he KO'd Chris van Heerden in Round 2 in their 2022 matchup.

Benn was 150 or heavier for his next four fights after van Heerden and weighed 149.5 for a defeat of former 140-pound champ Regis Prograis in April.

"I'd rather it hard then than hard now," Benn said. "So it's easy now."