“I don’t care what he’s doing. Like it makes no difference. He can carry on doing what he’s doing,” said Benn to Ring about Ryan. “It don’t concern me at all. All I know is I’m working extremely hard to come out victorious. No doubt I’ll be looking for the stoppage myself. I think I’ll stop him. Yeah, I do.”
The weight cut figures to be one of Benn’s biggest hurdles before he even steps into the ring. He looked visibly drained on the scales before his 150-pound catchweight bout against Regis Prograis last April, making his condition at the weigh-in worth watching on September 12.
“Yeah, it’s hard. It’s brutal. This is my last fight at 147. When I win the world title, I’ll move on,” said Benn. “Yeah, I haven’t made 147 for four years, so it’s challenging. I went up to 183 for the Eubank fights, but we’re getting it done.”
Asked where he sees himself after Garcia, Benn answered, “154, 160, 168.”
Leaving welterweight may prove easier than finding success in the heavier divisions. Benn should be able to win fights against domestic-level opposition, but the climb becomes much steeper against the elite. Jaron Ennis, Vergil Ortiz Jr., Sebastian Fundora, Israil Madrimov, Carlos Adames, Yoenli Hernandez and WBA middleweight champion Erislandy Lara would all present difficult stylistic and physical challenges.
Benn’s performance against 37-year-old Regis Prograis did little to quiet concerns about how he’ll fare after moving up. Prograis was fighting above his best weight and is well past his prime, yet Benn still had to work hard for the victory. If Benn struggles at 154 pounds or above, he may eventually have to reconsider his decision to leave welterweight. Returning to 147 would require another brutal weight cut, but it also may offer his best route back into the title picture. First, however, he must defeat Garcia to leave the division as WBC champion.
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