What's next for Ryan Garcia, Conor Benn and Jai Opetaia after wild night of fights in Las Vegas

There are some definitive options for Garcia and Opetaia to start building toward

Sep 13, 2026 at 9:30 am ET • 3 min read

A big night of boxing in Las Vegas saw Ryan Garcia and Jai Opetaia emerge with impressive knockout victories to cap off Saturday's Zuffa Boxing event.

Garcia took less than two rounds to knock out Conor Benn in the night's main event. With the win, Garcia picked up the first defense of the WBC welterweight championship he won by defeating Mario Barrios in February.

Benn suffered the second loss of his professional career, previously dropping the first fight of his intense rivalry with Chris Eubank Jr. in 2025. Unlike the loss to Eubank, which established Benn as a legitimate talent with huge heart, the loss to Garcia came in such quick, crushing fashion that it leaves serious questions about where Benn will go from here.

Meanwhile, Opetaia retained his Ring Magazine and Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight championships by defeating WBC champion Noel Mikaelian, whose belt was not on the line. Opetaia remains undefeated while retaining his status as the consensus best cruiserweight in boxing.

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Let's take a look at what is likely to come next for all three of these big-name fighters.

Ryan Garcia

Garcia made it very clear what he wants next, calling out WBA welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez. Despite Garcia calling Lopez to the ring, security stopped an animated Lopez from actually getting there.

A fight between Garcia and Lopez makes plenty of sense. Both hold versions of the welterweight title and both are big names who have been willing to step in with dangerous opponents. Garcia has fought Gervonta "Tank" Davis and Devin Haney, while Lopez has fought Vasiliy Lomachenko and Shakur Stevenson.

Lopez and Garcia are also fighters who love to talk trash to sell a fight, and Lopez will certainly point to his win over Rolando "Rolly" Romero to win the WBA title as proof of his superiority given Garcia lost a 2025 fight to Romero in which he fought terribly.

After knocking out Benn, Garcia also called for a rematch with Haney. Garcia beat Haney in 2024, but the win was overturned after it was revealed that Garcia had failed multiple drug tests around the fight.

Jai Opetaia

Like Garcia, Opetaia was direct in calling out the man he wanted to face next. Unlike Garcia, Opetaia's callout was respectful and met with respect from the potential opponent.

After knocking out Mikaelian, Opetaia called out current WBO and WBA cruiserweight champion David Benavidez. Benavidez entered the ring and the two shared kind words before Benavidez offered up a potential date on Cinco de Mayo, which Opetaia accepted.

The two sides would still need to make a deal to get the fight over the finish line, but it's a good fight between the two best cruiserweights in the sport. The fight would also represent Opetaia's willingness to "dare to be great" by being the first elite champion to give Benavidez an opportunity at the crown. Benavidez previously left super middleweight, where he was a two-time champion, when Saul "Canelo" Alvarez made it clear he would never face him. After moving to light heavyweight, Benavidez found a similar struggle when he couldn't lock down a fight with top fighters Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.

Conor Benn

The question of what is next for Benn is far more difficult to answer than for Garcia and Opetaia.

Benn was not seen as a serious fighter for much of his career, instead being treated like a fighter trading on his famous father's name. Everything in his career built toward facing Eubank to rekindle their fathers' rivalry for a rabid British fanbase.

Benn and Eubank put on the 2025 Fight of the Year, with Benn losing but gaining respect from the entire boxing world. He then won the rematch and went on to beat Regis Prograis to set up the fight with Garcia.

The trouble is Benn's elite fights are a loss to Eubank, a win over Eubank when Eubank looked wrecked by the weight cut, a win over a completely faded version of Prograis and now a quick knockout loss to Garcia.

Benn needs to get himself back into the win column if he's going to continue fighting after this loss. The most reasonable way to do that is to spend some time back on the British boxing scene.

There's no shame in a fighter taking a few light touches to get his career back on track, and that's exactly what Benn needs after Saturday night. Whoever Benn faces next is likely a fighter most fans have never heard of, or one whose best days are well behind them, like Prograis.