Ryan Garcia demolishes Conor Benn in two rounds to retain welterweight world title

Conor Benn’s first world title challenge ended in a comprehensive early stoppage defeat by Ryan Garcia in Las Vegas.

Benn was swiftly outclassed in Saturday night’s eagerly-anticipated main event at T-Mobile Arena, floored by a sharp right hand early in round two after a chaotic opener in which he was caught by a couple of trademark left hooks but managed to punch well to the body.

That fierce knockdown was followed by a vicious and precise onslaught from Garcia, whose combination of mesmerising hand speed and power proved far too much for the challenger to handle with so much time left in the round.

It was an emphatic first defence of the belt that Garcia easily took from Mario Barrios in February, with a fight against Teofimo Lopez potentially now on the cards after the duo clashed in the ring afterwards.

For Benn, such a sobering loss leaves his next move uncertain, though it seems likely to have been his last contest at welterweight after he said that he had been “dragged down to the pits of hell” in order to make the 147lb limit, having not fought in the division for almost four-and-a-half years.

It was only a second career defeat for Benn, who was beaten by arch-rival Chris Eubank Jr in their fight fight last year at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before winning the rematch.

He drops to 25-2, while Garcia improves to 26-2, having now achieved back-to-back victories since his shock defeat by Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero in New York.