T
NFL
Boxing

Conor Benn prioritises family time as boxing future remains undecided after Garcia defeat

Amanda Cross
Amanda Cross
Boxing Correspondent
10:01 AM
BOXING
Conor Benn prioritises family time as boxing future remains undecided after Garcia defeat
Conor Benn says he has no answer yet about his boxing future after Ryan Garcia stopped him in Las Vegas. His immediate priority is time with his children.

Conor Benn has said he does not yet know his next step in boxing after Ryan Garcia stopped him in the second round of their world-title fight in Las Vegas on Saturday. According to BBC Sport's Adwaidh Rajan, Benn addressed his future in an Instagram post, saying his immediate priority was spending time with his children rather than setting out another fight plan.

Watch the highlights:

Garcia retained the WBC welterweight championship in his first defence of the belt. Benn entered the contest as the organisation's number one contender, but the defeat brought the first stoppage loss of his professional career. It was his 27th professional fight and only his second defeat across a career spanning 10 years, leaving his latest world-title challenge over inside two rounds.

In his message, the 29-year-old Briton described the demands his boxing career had placed on his family. He said his children had sacrificed time with their father while he pursued the sport, and that those closest to him had borne much of the cost of his commitment. His response did not provide a definite answer about his next career move.

Benn was taken to hospital following the fight, a step BBC Sport reported was understood to be precautionary. That description does not establish a specific injury, and the report gave no diagnosis. The hospital visit followed a contest in which Garcia defeated a challenger returning to welterweight for the first time in more than four years.

Before the bout, Benn had already said it would be his final appearance in the division. He intended to move up in weight regardless of the result, according to the BBC report. His two fights against Chris Eubank Jr took place at middleweight, giving his recent career a different divisional setting from Saturday's challenge for Garcia's welterweight title.

Benn began his professional career with limited amateur experience and did not follow the conventional progression through British, Commonwealth and European championships. For now, his public response to the Garcia defeat centres on family time. He has left the question of what comes next in the ring unanswered.

Share this article

Comments

0

No comments yet

Be the first to share your thoughts!