Andreas Heil
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- Andreas Heil is a combat sports reporter for ESPN. Andreas talks about MMA, boxing and professional wrestling. In his free time, Andreas plays video games, is obsessed with music, and is a White Sox and 49ers fan. He is also the host of Fight Nation on Sirius XM. Before joining ESPN, Andreas was a senior columnist for DAZN and Sporting News. He began his career as a music journalist for publications such as HipHopDX, The Grammys and Jay-Z’s Life+Times. He is also an NAACP Image Award-nominated director as the producer of the 2024 animated short film Bridges.
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Golden Boy Promotions’ Ryan Garcia will put his WBC welterweight title on the line against Zuffa Boxing’s Conor Benn on Sept. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Zuffa Boxing co-founder Turki Alalshih announced on social media Wednesday.
The championship fight will be produced by Ring Magazine and co-promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Zuffa Boxing. It will stream live worldwide on Paramount+ and exclusively on DAZN in the UK and Ireland.
The announcement of the fight, set for Mexican Independence Day weekend in Las Vegas, ends a months-long feud between Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and Zuffa Boxing, co-founded by UFC CEO Dana White. Relationships will be mended for now as the two rivals work alongside their fighters, who began arguing on social media shortly after the fight was announced.
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“You talk too much,” Benn wrote on X. “I’ll break your head.”
“I told you personally, you’re not a good enough fighter to beat me,” Garcia responded to X. “You forced yourself into this position… I’ll show you a lesson in throwing yourself into something you’re just not ready for.”
Garcia initially teased the fight during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon back in May, telling the late night host that the fight against Benn would be “a little personal.” At that time the contract had not been signed. Golden Boy Promotions sent a cease-and-desist letter to Zuffa Boxing and TKO Group to end what they called interference in Garcia’s business. Another order is reported to have come from DAZN, which owns the rights to broadcast Garcia’s fights.
De La Hoya went on the offensive, repeatedly stating that he had not yet been contacted to take part in the fight. He has been at odds with White since before the launch of Zuffa Boxing, repeatedly targeting the UFC CEO in his Clapback Tuesday videos on social media. However, things went in a different direction last week when De La Hoya said on social media that he “got the memo” to start working on the fight.
Richard Pelham/Getty Images for Netflix
Garcia and Benn were both in Las Vegas for Conor McGregor’s return to UFC 329. Both were spotted on stage with recent Zuffa Boxing signee Shakur Stevenson at Friday’s weigh-in, making it seem like an announcement was imminent. Sources told ESPN that the announcement was delayed because the terms of the deal still needed to be finalized.
“This is such a great fight,” White said in a statement. “Conor Benn has won 26 of his 27 professional fights and is coming off a big win in the UK earlier this year. Ryan Garcia is one of boxing’s biggest stars and a world champion. These guys are in their prime and this is a fight they’ve both wanted for a long time. They’ll go head-to-head for the first time today before stepping into the ring on Sept. 12 during Mexico’s Independence Day weekend at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The energy in this place will be incredible.”
“I’ve been preparing for this for ten years. I won’t miss,” Benn added on X.
With business taken care of, Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) will make his first defense of the title he won in February by defeating Mario Barrios. One of boxing’s biggest stars will compete on Mexico’s Independence Day weekend, a date usually reserved for Canelo Alvarez. However, Canelo’s return against WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli in Saudi Arabia was pushed back to October, opening the door for Garcia to take the fight.
Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) will return to welterweight for the first time since 2022. The Brit’s career took a turn for the worse when he moved up in weight to face rival Chris Eubank Jr. Benn lost the first fight last April but won the rematch in November.
Benn, who originally signed a one-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing in February, has made it known that he plans to return to welterweight and challenge for a world title. In April, he defeated two-time junior welterweight champion Regis Prograis in the co-main event of Tyson Fury’s decision win over Arslanbek Makhmudov. Benn signed a multi-fight deal to remain with White’s promotion days after his win over Prograis.
The fight signals that Zuffa Boxing will allow its fighters to compete for other world titles. When the promotion launched earlier this year, they avoided sanctions and sought to crown their own champions. However, the move demonstrates a change of heart as their fighters will have the opportunity to compete for world titles outside of the promotion.