Ryan Garcia has revealed that a deal for him to fight British star Conor Benn is all but agreed with the blockbuster welterweight world title showdown set to take place in Las Vegas in September.
The popular American secured his long sought-after first world championship belt earlier this year when he produced an emphatic performance to dethrone the former 147lbs WBC king Mario Barrios.
Speculation has been rife since then that his maiden defence of the title would come against recently signed Zuffa Boxing fighter Benn, with the two having held a long-term disdain for each another.
Benn had previously attempted to secure a lucrative fight with Garcia last year, following his defeat to Chris Eubank Jr, only for the Californian to succumb to a shock loss at the hands of Rolly Romero - a bout in which the Briton was ringside, in New York, for.
The two have continued to trade insults on social media however, and it now looks as though official confirmation of the long-mooted dust-up is imminent.
Speaking on the Jimmy Fallon Show this week, the WBC titlist said: " can say that we are fighting September 12th.
"It will be in Vegas. And the opponent, let’s just say he’s from the other side.
He’s across the Pond, I’m sorry, across the Pond. I’ll just say his name. Just ’cause I love the show. His name is Conor Benn.
- Ryan Garcia (WBC welterweight world champion)
"He’s talking a lot. He’s talking crazy. He’s talking a lot. He actually confronted me at an award show, two years ago, and my wife was there and he just pressed up on me, grabbed me.
" Yeah, so it’s a little personal. So we’ll be ready to go get him. Trust me guys."
Should the bout get the green light, then it would represent Benn's first venture back in the welterweight division in four years, having stepped up to middleweight for his domestic double-header with Eubank Jr.
Garcia however is more seasoned at 147lbs, and would step into the ring as the odds-on favourite, with Benn largely considered as a relatively sizeable outsider to prized the green and gold belt from the twice-beaten American.
