Jermall Charlo leans toward Ryan Garcia against Conor Benn

Jermall Charlo expects Ryan Garcia to retain his WBC welterweight title against Conor Benn, with the two fighters set to meet at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, September 12. The former two-division world champion also confirmed he plans to attend the bout.

Charlo made clear that his support is with Garcia rather than Benn, while describing the contest as an exciting and unpredictable fight. His comments suggested that he believes Garcia will remain champion after his first defence of the belt.

Garcia captured the WBC welterweight title in February by beating Mario Barrios on points. The Californian will now face Benn, the mandatory challenger, in what will be his first defence of the championship.

Benn is returning to the 147-pound division for the first time since April 2022. He has already indicated that he intends to give up the belt and move back to a more natural weight class after the contest, regardless of whether he defeats Garcia. His two middleweight fights against Chris Eubank Jr have affected his ability to make the welterweight limit comfortably.

The Garcia-Benn fight is part of a Las Vegas card featuring Jai Opetaia against WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian in the co-main event. Charlo’s attendance will add interest to a night that includes a title defence involving one of boxing’s leading American names.

Charlo had been expected to fight in Australia last month, but visa complications prevented that appearance. He is instead aiming for a challenge against Jaime Munguia for the WBA super-middleweight title next year, and has identified October 17 as a possible date for his next bout.