British boxer Conor Benn confirmed that his next confrontation against American Ryan García, scheduled for September 12 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, will represent his last appearance in the welterweight category.
The candidate for the World Boxing Council belt explained that the dehydration process to reach 147 pounds is highly demanding for his body structure, so once the commitment in North American territory is concluded he will make the jump to higher divisions.
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The physical wear and tear and the demands of the welterweight
During an interview with the specialized magazine The Ring, Conor Benn detailed the metabolic complications he faces during training camp to meet the scale at the limit of the category. The British athlete argued that the weight margin he must reduce at this stage of his professional career requires an extreme effort that he does not plan to repeat in his following camps.
“It's hard, it's brutal,” Conor Benn declared in the conversation when evaluating the physical preparation process, adding categorically about his future in the division: “This is my last fight at 147 pounds and when I win the world title, I will move on.” In the same dialogue with the cited source, the boxer recalled the tonnage variations he experienced in his most recent engagements in the ring: "For me, I haven't weighed 147 for four years, so it's a challenge, don't get me wrong, it's really difficult. Just think: I went up to 183 pounds for the fights with Eubank. So it's hard to achieve."
Recent trajectory in higher divisions
Conor Benn's competitive history at welterweight dates back to April 2022, when he defeated South African Chris van Heerden via technical knockout in the second round. After that fight and after a pause in his career, the European fighter directed his activity towards higher tonnage categories, making appearances at super welterweight against rivals such as Rodolfo Orozco in September 2023 and Peter Dobson five months later.
Likewise, the British competitor fought two high-profile fights in the middleweight division against Chris Eubank Jr. between 2025 and 2026, alternating an adverse result in the first fight with a decision victory in the rematch. As a step prior to his return to the welterweight limit, Conor Benn faced Regis Prograis in April 2026 at a catchweight of 150 pounds, an intermediate figure that served to begin the physical transition towards the title fight in Las Vegas.
