Ryan Garcia, Conor Benn officially set for Sept. 12 title fight in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — Ryan Garcia's first defense of his WBC welterweight title is official, and it comes against the fighter he has been calling out for more than a year.

Garcia will face Conor Benn on Sept. 12 at T-Mobile Arena, with Zuffa Boxing founder Dana White and Golden Boy Promotions chairman Oscar De La Hoya both confirming the matchup Wednesday. The card streams globally on Paramount+ and exclusively on DAZN in the United Kingdom and Ireland, settling a broadcast standoff that had stalled negotiations for weeks.

Garcia won the WBC belt in February with a wide unanimous decision over Mario Barrios at the same arena, scoring a first-round knockdown en route to the title. It was his first win since a stoppage of Oscar Duarte in December 2023. His majority-decision victory over Devin Haney in between was overturned to a no contest after Garcia tested positive for ostarine.

Benn gets the first world title opportunity of his career as the WBC's No. 1-ranked contender but hasn't made the 147-pound limit since a second-round stoppage of Chris Van Heerden in April 2022, so the cut back down to welterweight is its own storyline heading into fight week. He enters off a unanimous decision over former 140-pound titleholder Regis Prograis this past April at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, a bout contested at a 150-pound catchweight.

Benn left longtime promoter Eddie Hearn's Matchroom in February to sign with Zuffa Boxing, and Wednesday's announcement marks the first time White's promotion and De La Hoya's Golden Boy have worked together on a card. Golden Boy sent Zuffa Boxing and TKO a cease-and-desist letter last month, accusing the promotion of negotiating directly with Garcia's camp without Golden Boy's involvement. DAZN followed with its own letter days earlier, asserting its exclusive broadcast rights to Garcia's fights. Golden Boy's exclusive promotional deal with Garcia ended after his win over Barrios in February, but the company retained a multi-fight co-promotional option that gives it mutual say over his bouts.

Garcia first named Benn as his target in May during an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," describing a personal edge to the rivalry that traces back to an incident at an awards show. He said Benn confronted him while his wife was present.

The Sept. 12 date lines up with Canelo Alvarez's WBC super middleweight title defense against Christian Mbilli, now positioned in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of Riyadh Season's fall calendar after being moved off its original date. That shift freed up the September slot for Garcia and Benn, setting up a split-screen night for boxing fans on Mexican Independence Day weekend.

Garcia is coming off arguably the best stretch of his career, while Benn arrives as one of the sport's most polarizing figures following his two clashes with Chris Eubank Jr., a decision loss in 2025 followed by a dominant rematch win that November. Both fighters have spent months building toward this moment, and now they have a date, a building and a broadcast plan to match the hype.