‘It can be dangerous’ – Brit world champ and ex-sparring partner fears for Conor Benn’s weight cut for Ryan Garcia fight

DENZEL BENTLEY fears ex-sparring partner Conor Benn has put himself in a dangerous position against Ryan Garcia – before a punch has even been thrown. Benn drops back down to welterweight for the first time in over FOUR YEARS when he challenges for Garcia’s WBC title on Saturday night. Denzel Bentley is a former sparring partner of Conor Benn’s Credit: Facebook/Conor Benn Benn cutting weight for his fight with Ryan Garcia Credit: Facebook/Conor Benn The son of British great Nigel jumped up to 160lb for two middleweight mega-fights against Chris Eubank Jr in 2025. He lost the April thriller but won the November rematch with a domination against the evidently weight-drained 36-year-old Eubank. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! And Bentley – who sparred Benn before the first grudge match – fears he could end up in a similar state to Eubank in his return to welterweight. He said on SunSport’s No Glove Lost episode: “I felt like he’s putting his body through quite a lot. “I think he’s trying to stick to what he’s promised he’ll do, which is make the weight, and I think it could do him some harm. “I mean, it’s a bit too long for him to not be at that weight, and fight at other weights, and Conor’s work rate is mental. “He works hard, so it’s not like he was moving up in weight by just eating and putting it on. “He’s actually building muscle, doing all the correct things, nutrition, S&C, everything to to make these weights, 160 and look as shredded as he did, in the Eubank fight. Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Garcia vs Benn - all the info “So to cut all that off and go to 147, I think could be a bit dangerous.” Benn, 29, has already drawn concern with a series of posts from his training camp where he appears to already be gaunt before Friday’s weigh-in. Meanwhile Garcia, 28, defends the title he won against Mario Barrios, 31, in February for the first time. That victory came after he was stunned in defeat by Rolly Romero, 30, in May 2025 in a lacklustre performance. Bentley – the WBO middleweight champ – reckons a fit and healthy Benn could capitalise on another underwhelming Garcia. But Benn first has a fight just to shrink back down to the 147lb limit. Bentley said: “I look at the Rollies fight and Rollies, he’s smarter than we all give him credit for. He’s just mad awkward. “But that physicality was throwing Ryan off. And one thing about Conor, he’s very physical.” “If you don’t think he’s got skill and all, he’s physically strong. I’ll be honest about that. “So if he can push him and do all that, the only thing with Conor is, Ryan’s got a good counter left hook and right hand. “Conor does leap a lot, jumps into shots, gets a bit desperate, that’s dangerous. “And if you’re weight drained, you know what I’m saying, it could be a bit mad.” “But if he’s, I think a fully fit both of them at whatever weight, Conor can dog him. But that weight is a big issue. “Ryan doesn’t rate him anyway, he doesn’t think he’s a good fighter, so he’s going to go in there with more confidence than he even needs, maybe too much. “At some point, he is going to clip Conor, because like I said, Conor does leap a lot, leaves himself open, especially for a left hook. “So he’s got to watch out for that, and listen, Tony Sims is a great trainer, so they’re probably working on all that stuff and making sure he’s not affected by Ryan’s best shots.” Comment now