RYAN GARCIA STOPS CONOR BENN WHILE OPETAIA CLAIMS WBA GOLD

Ryan Garcia made an emphatic statement in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena after
stopping Conor Benn inside the second round of their fight to successfully defend his
WBC welterweight title for the first time.

After weeks of bad blood, trash talk and questions surrounding Benn’s return to the
147lb division, the American dropped Benn with a huge right hand before swarming
the British challenger with a barrage of shots, forcing referee Thomas Taylor to
intervene at 1:25 of the second round.

From the opening bell, Garcia wasted little time finding his range, landing a stiff left hand in
the first few seconds that sent Benn backwards.

Benn would remain rather composed within the first round and would begin to find
his own success, stepping into the pocket and landing some solid shots of his own,
including a big left to the body which briefly forced Garcia to turn away.

The second round would see Benn would come out aggressively, but the Champion did
well to navigate through the storm, catching his opponent with a well-timed counter that
knocked Benn off balance.

Later in the round, Garcia unleashed a lightning-fast right hand which sent the British
challenger crashing to the canvas. Benn beat the eight-count by the referee and
looked okay to continue, but Garcia immediately went out looking for the finish.

The champion would swarm Benn with a relentless barrage of punches, leaving Taylor
with little choice but to step in and wave off the contest at 1:25 of the second round.
With his record now reading 26-2, Ryan Garcia would call out both Devin Haney and
Teofimo Lopez out who were both sat ringside for a future fight.

Jai Opetaia became the first man to stop Noel Mikaelian as he claimed a ninth-round
TKO victory to add another piece of silverware to his collection, now claiming the
vacant WBA title on-top of the already earned ZUFFA and Ring titles.

The early stages were very scrappy, with two head clashes leaving Opetaia with
swelling alongside his left eye after the opening round.

Mikaelian proved an awkward target through the first three rounds, but Opetaia
began to find his range in the fourth, landing a heavy left uppercut and left hook that
briefly froze his opponent.

The Australian’s power became increasingly prevalent as the fight went on. Opetaia would land much cleaner shots and begin to break through Mikaelian defence more often.

Mikaelian did catch out Opetaia seven rounds in with a short right hand that
appeared to hurt the champion, forcing him to hold on before recovering.

However, Opetaia would have the final say in the ninth. A brutal combination left
Mikaelian standing still before a huge right hand sent him falling backwards, with the
ropes keeping him upright.

Referee Harvey Dock administered a standing eight-count before waving off the
contest at 1:30 of the ninth round.

The victory moves Opetaia to 31-0 with 24 knockouts, before David Benavidez
entered the ring, accepting the champion’s call for a future unification clash.

Da’Mazion Vanhouter continued his impressive rise with ZUFFA Boxing, stopping
Raphael Akpejiori in the opening round of their contest at heavyweight.

Vanhouter found range early doors, wobbling the six-foot-eight Akpejiori with two
heavy right hands before a sharp right-hand, left-hook combination which sent the
Nigerian to the canvas.

After the eight-count, Akpejiori briefly halted Vanhouter’s attack by tying up his left
arm and appearing to put pressure on the American’s shoulder. Vanhouter went down showing his discomfort but told the referee he was fine to
continue.

Once the action resumed, the 21-year-old wasted no time, unloading a onslaught of
huge right hands to force the stoppage at 1:58 of the opening round.

The victory takes Vanhouter to 13-0, with all three of his fights under the ZUFFA
Boxing umbrella coming by knockout.

(97-93, 97-93, 97-93)

Opening the main card, Andres Cortes beat former featherweight world champion
Mark Magsayo via unanimous decision.

The undefeated Las Vegas native controlled the fight from range while also finding
success up close, consistently out-striking Magsayo, who appeared to be searching
for ‘the big shot’ early on.

Cortes forced Magsayo to touch down four times across the fight, including twice in
the seventh round of their contest, although none of these occasions were officially
ruled as knockdowns.

Magsayo changed his approach in the eighth, throwing combinations and enjoying
his best spell of the contest.

A big left hook in the ninth briefly appeared to wobble Cortes, but the American
recovered quickly and comfortably boxed his way to the final bell.

The judges scored the contest 97-93 across the board, moving Cortes to 26-0 and
keeping his unbeaten record intact.

60-54, 59-55, 59-55

Going down the card, Oswaldo Molina claimed a unanimous decision victory over
Pablo Rubio in a battle between two undefeated prospects at lightweight.

Molina entered the contest with fewer fights on his resume but looked a step ahead
throughout the six-round bout, using his superior footwork and cleaner striking to edge
many of the rounds.

Neither fighter was able to land anything that seriously troubled the other, but Molina
continued to control the action and build his lead as the fight progressed.

The judges would ultimately award Molina a convincing 60-54, 59-55, 59-55 victory,
with one judge giving the Mexican teenager all six rounds.

The result moves the 19-year-old to 10-0, while Rubio suffers the first defeat of his
professional career and drops to 15-1.

77-74, 77-74, 77-74

Abel Gonzalez recovered from the first knockdown of his career to defeat Raul
Salomon by unanimous decision in their eight-round super middleweight bout.

Salomon stunned Gonzalez late in the opening round, dropping the undefeated
prospect with a short right hand before carrying his momentum into the second.

From the third round onwards, Gonzalez looked to have found some rhythm. The
American increased his work rate, pushed the pace and became more defensively
responsible, particularly when fighting off the ropes.

After eight competitive rounds, Gonzalez' stronger work earned him a 77-74
scorecard from all three judges, preserving his unbeaten record, pushing it up to 9-0.

Vlad Panin extended his winning streak with a fourth-round TKO victory over Dakota
Linger in their super welterweight contest.

Panin started up quickly, hurting Linger’s body before unloading a barrage of shots in
the corner. Linger would survive the opening round, despite taking severe punishment.

Panin continued to pile up the pressure over the next two rounds before finding the
finish in the fourth.

A pair of solid body shots forced Linger towards the ropes, with Panin following up
with another heavy combination.

The referee would stop the action at 1:22 of the fourth round, bringing the fight to an
end and sparing Linger more punishment.

The victory takes Panin to 25 career wins, his second under the ZUFFA Boxing label
and his fourth consecutive victory.

98-91, 98-91, 97-92

Alexis Rocha defeated former unified 140lb champion Jose Ramirez by unanimous
decision in a competitive 10-round welterweight clash.

Ramirez started strong, but Rocha grew into the fight and took control through the
middle rounds.

A ninth-round head clash left Rocha bleeding, but he would ultimately fire back
strongly appearing to drop Ramirez, who would go onto dispute the knockdown.

Both men pushed hard through the final round, but Rocha earned the victory with
scores of 98-91, 98-91 and 97-92.

56-56, 58-54, 58-54

Ryan Garcia’s younger brother Sean Garcia opened the preliminary card with a
majority decision victory over Abraham Morales in their six-round lightweight contest.

Garcia showcased flashy hands and good hand speed like his brother’s, while
Morales constantly looked to pressure his opponent. That pressure worked against
him late in the third, as Garcia caught him with a smart counter, sending the 32-year-
old to the canvas.

A point deduction for Garcia in the fifth gave Morales some hope, with the Mexican
enjoying his best round of the fight.

Garcia remained composed himself in the final round to secure a majority decision, with
the judges scoring it 56-56, 58-54 and 58-54.

With Ryan Garcia delivering the statement victory he promised to the boxing world
and Opetaia adding another world title to add to his collection, Las Vegas provided
plenty of talking points heading into the final months of 2026. Both men will now turn their attention towards what comes next.

Will we see Teofimo Lopez and ‘King Ry’ face each other finally? Or will Devin
Haney get his chance first to get his get-back on Garcia after their last fight was
labelled a no contest?