Teddy Atlas Backs Conor Benn to Upset Ryan Garcia in Vegas

Teddy Atlas isn't buying the champion. With Ryan Garcia set to make the first defense of his WBC welterweight title against Conor Benn at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena on September 12, the Hall of Fame trainer is leaning toward the underdog — and his reasoning has nothing to do with hand speed.

Garcia (25-2, 20 KO) picked up the belt by outpointing Mario Barrios on the cards this past February, a clean, assured performance that steadied a career that had been wobbling. Benn arrives at 25-1 (14 KO), unranked at 147 but riding the momentum of a unanimous-decision win over Regis Prograis. Atlas told Canada Casino he'd probably side with Benn, and the case he built is pure psychology.

The Mental Ledger

Atlas's argument is that Garcia's talent only shows up when his head is in the right place. He described the 27-year-old as someone who fights in spurts — brilliant when the wiring is connected, ordinary when it isn't. Benn, by contrast, doesn't produce fireworks, but Atlas rates him the more consistent worker, the guy who keeps his offense ticking round to round.

It's a fair read of recent history. Garcia's points loss to Rolando Romero in May 2025 came off the back of a year-long ostarine ban following his win-turned-no-contest over Devin Haney, and he looked passive and unsure of himself throughout that camp. Romero, now ranked #5 at welterweight at 17-2 (13 KO), simply outworked a version of Garcia that had lost its swagger.

The Barrios win suggested Garcia has found firmer ground mentally. Atlas just isn't convinced it holds. His whole framework leans toward consistency over flash, and on that metric he tips the balance — narrowly — to Benn.

Two Fighters, Two Test Failures

Worth noting: this is a matchup where both men carry PED baggage. Garcia's ostarine positive derailed 2024, while Benn's clomifene failure blew up his planned 2022 clash with Chris Eubank Jr. Neither camp gets to lecture the other. But at 25-1 versus 25-2, with a genuine world title on the line, the numbers say this is closer than the champion's belt suggests — and Atlas clearly agrees.