Ryan Garcia confirmed he had a back-up plan if speculation surrounding a box office bout with Zuffa Boxing signing Conor Benn fails to materialize.
Though the fighters are, currently, nowhere near the pound-for-pound conversation they have both built extraordinary name-value both in and outside of boxing.
With Garcia, he is armed with followers across multiple social media platforms and is a fan-favorite despite erratic form — a seventh-round knockout loss to Gervonta Davis, an eighth-round finish of Oscar Duarte, a 12-round win over Devin Haney retroactively turned to a No Contest when Garcia failed a drug test. He returned from the scandal but looked lost against Rolando Romero, losing after 12 rounds but managed to beat Mario Barrios earlier this year with a mature and controlled display.
Benn, meanwhile, is one of boxing’s biggest names even though his biggest win is a rematch victory over Chris Eubank Jr., who looked frail at the 160-pound weight. In his most recent win, a decision over Regis Prograis, Benn seemingly struggled to stop a veteran who said he carried four injuries into the ring.
Regardless, they could fight, and they could fight soon.
Perhaps one problem of several, though, is allegiance with Benn signed to Zuffa and Dana White, and Garcia with Golden Boy Promotions and Óscar de la Hoya. White and de la Hoya have been at loggerheads for years.
Garcia also suspects Benn will duck him.
And so it should perhaps be no surprise that Garcia has alternatives — and one of those is a rematch of his own against Rolly.
“That’s the backup,” he told reporters this week, as reported by Ring Magazine.
“If Conor don’t want it, then we’ll run it back with Rolly.”
