Conor Benn’s trainer casts doubt on potential Ryan Garcia fight as he questions timeline

Conor Benn’s trainer, Tony Sims, is unsure whether his charge will face the winner of Ryan Garcia vs Mario Barrios in his welterweight return.

Benn revealed that he would be moving down to 147lbs, after avenging his loss against Chris Eubank Jr in November.

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He has since been named as the mandatory challenger for the WBC belt, which Mario Barrios is putting on the line against Garcia next month.

Garcia is the narrow favourite heading into his clash with Barrios, and Benn is eager to face the winner, with Garcia being the bigger commercial draw.

Although Benn’s trainer, Sims, has expressed his concerns that the timeline for his return to the ring may not align with Garcia’s next step after fighting Barrios.

He explained: “He’s mandatory for the winner of that fight, so he’s in a good position.

“It depends on how big the turnaround is.

“February 21 is the week before March, and I know Conor would like to box in April, but that’s only eight or nine weeks after his [Garcia’s] fight.

“So I just don’t see Garcia fighting that quickly, or if [he’s unsure if] Conor will fight in the interim.

“We’ve got to see who wins that first.

“Garcia was a big favourite against Rolly Romero, and we know what happened with that.

“So we will see how it plays out and get something on the back burner to keep him [Benn] busy [should they need to].”

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Could a delay in fighting for a world title be good for Conor Benn?

While he has been working on dropping the pounds since he last fought at 160lbs, a delay in taking on the winner of Garcia vs Barrios could play to Benn’s advantage.

Sims explained: “It gives us time to bring his weight down.

“He’s been doing that gently since the fight.

“He’s not a proper middleweight, but he’s walking around under 160lbs and we’re looking to bring him down to 158lbs next week and bring it down gently.”

Benn hasn’t fought at welterweight since 2022, but has set his sights firmly on the WBC world title upon his return.

Especially as his father, Nigel Benn, won the famous belt back in 1992 and he wants to emulate his feat.

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Even though Garcia isn’t guaranteed to be The Destroyer’s next opponent, the bout is being mooted to take place in May by Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh.

Benn’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, said on talkSPORT Breakfast: “Barrios is the one he targeted for a long time, he is obsessed with that WBC belt.

“So it was great news for him yesterday and Ryan Garcia is the big name and big draw.

“And Turki Alalshikh has announced that he wants to see Conor fight Ryan Garcia on Cinco De Mayo [May 5 weekend] in Las Vegas.

“It would be huge, the Brits would travel out and he’d get his shot at the world title in Las Vegas.

“But either way, Ryan Garcia is the slight favourite and Benn will get his shot either way.”