Conor Benn makes sudden U-turn on Ryan Garcia fight after upset loss to Rolly Romero
Conor Benn is no longer interested in sharing the ring with Ryan Garcia.
The Brit flew out to New York City to watch Garcia duke it out with Rolly Romero on a triple-header bill at Times Square.
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He did so in the hope of getting a closer look at a potential future opponent.
Benn is expected to rematch Chris Eubank Jr at the back end of this year after their barnburning bout last weekend.
However, if, for whatever reason, the second fight doesn't come off, Benn had expressed a willingness to box Garcia instead.
That all changed when 'King Ry' fell to a shock defeat at the hands of Romero.
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Garcia was sent tumbling to the canvas in the second round by a double left hook and appeared hesitant to let his hands go as he laboured to a unanimous decision defeat in a low-output affair.
Benn was left thoroughly unimpressed by what he had watched and retracted his offer to face Garcia in the immediate aftermath.
"I didn't think it was great," Benn said of Garcia's performance to iFL TV.
"Very disappointing performance. It was terrible."
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Asked if he still wanted to fight Garcia, Benn responded: "No. I don't think so."
A cross-Atlantic clash with Benn isn't the only fight Garcia missed out on in losing to Romero.
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He also saw a lucrative rematch with bitter rival Devin Haney slip through his fingers.
Garcia dropped Haney three times last April en route to initially getting his hand raised via majority decision.
However, the result was overturned to a no contest after it was found Garcia had failed two drug tests taken around his bout for the banned substance Ostarine.
As a result, Garcia was slapped with a one-year suspension by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) and was cleared to fight again last month.
An agreement with Haney had reportedly been reached for a second fight in late 2025.
All that both men needed to do was win their respective fights on Friday.
Haney outpointed Jose Ramirez, but Garcia failed to complete his side of the deal.
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