LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – Ryan Garcia aims to make the first defense of the WBC welterweight title he claimed back in February as he takes on Connor Benn in the Paramount+ main event of the Mexican Independence Day weekend event at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night. Fighters for the nine-bout card weighed-in officially at the Meta APEX early on Friday morning, with the ceremonial weigh-in taking place outdoors for the public at the Paramount+ Plaza at T-Mobile Arena later in the afternoon.
Just cracking into or on the cusp of a top ten pound-for-pound ranking depending on who you ask, Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) of Los Angeles, California rebounded from a wide decision defeat to Rolly Romero in his welterweight debut last year with a dominant unanimous decision over Mario Barrios to claim the title this past February.
Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) of Ilford, Essex, United Kingdom returns to the 147-pound division where he began his career for this one fight in an attempt to pick up the WBC title by unseating Garcia. Benn, the WBC #1 ranked welterweight, fought just a couple pounds over the division maximum for his last fight in April, a wide decision over fading former champion Regis Prograis, but has not made the limit since 2022.
Benn’s weight had been the topic of conversation in the lead-up and during fight week in Las Vegas, talk that ended up being all for not as Benn weighed-in one full pound under the welterweight limit at 146 pounds.
“He’s setting up excuses, [talking] about going to 168,” said Garcia of Benn’s future plans at Friday’s pre-fight press conference. “This is a title fight at 147.”
Garcia acknowledged the validity of a story reported by multiple outlets that he had appealed to the Nevada State Athletic Commission to allow the fight to still be fought with eight ounce gloves whether either fighter made the 147-pound limit or not.
“It was more of a precautionary thing in case he don’t make weight to able to still use eight ounce gloves,” said Garcia. “That is what I always fight at, 147, and I don’t want to have to fight with ten ounce. It is more deadlier with eight ounces anyway.”
Benn seemed unbothered yesterday by Garcia’s gamesmanship or the suggestion that he may fail to make the 147-pound welterweight limit.
“I have never missed weight in ten years,” said Benn. “You are talking to someone who has never missed weight, as opposed to someone that has missed weight previously multiple times. So I don’t understand why this has been brought up.”
Garcia weighed-in at 145 ½ at Friday morning’s official weigh-in.
Widely-regarded as the number one cruiserweight in the world, Jai Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs) of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia will take on Noel Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KOs) of Miami, Florida by way of Yerevan, Armenia in the twelve-round semi-main event on Saturday.
Mikaelian, who entered the week still recognized as the WBC cruiserweight champion, weighed-in at the cruiserweight limit of 200 pounds, while his status as reigning champion remains unclear.
Mikaelian just regained the title this past December, avenging a controversial majority verdict to Badou Jack via a wide unanimous decision.
Opetaia, recognized as the world cruiserweight champion by both Ring Magazine and Zuffa Boxing, ranked WBC #1/WBA #1/IBF #3, can maybe sympathize with Mikaelian’s belt issues. Opetaia was stripped of the IBF title over curious sanctioning body politics this past March.
Belts on the line or not, Mikaelian figures to test Opetaia, possibly in ways other recent opponents have not. Opetaia had scored four consecutive stoppages before Brandon Glanton took him the distance last time out this past March. Opetaia came in at 199 pounds on Friday morning.
Da’Mazion Vanhouter (12-0, 9 KOs) of Saint Petersburg, Florida is back in Las Vegas to take on Raphael Akpejiori (19-3, 18 KOs) of Miami by way of Lagos, Nigeria in an eight-round heavyweight bout. Vanhouter, who came in at 231 ½ on Friday, became one of the emerging faces of Zuffa Boxing during the initial run of shows out of the Meta APEX earlier this year, scoring two victories, highlighted by his one-round knockout of Raphael Murphy this past May. Akpejiori, weighing-in at 246 on Friday, is a full-fledged heavyweight that will have a six-inch height advantage to couple with his fourteen-and-one-half-pound weight edge.
In the opening bout of the main card, former featherweight titleholder Mark Magsayo (29-2, 19 KOs) of Las Vegas by way of Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines will take on Andres Cortes (25-0, 13 KOs) of Las Vegas in a ten-rounder.
When Magsayo, the IBF #6/WBO #9/WBC #10 ranked lightweight, and Cortes, the WBC #11/WBA #12WBO #13 ranked lightweight, shared the bill of Zuffa Boxing 05 back in April, all signs pointed to them meeting one another next. Sometimes the fights that make sense actually get made when they should. The winner of Saturday’s bout is rumored to be in line to fight Rayo Valenzuela next. Magsayo weighed-in at 134 ½ pounds, while Cortes scaled 135, the lightweight division limit.
In the final preliminary bout, 19-year-old Oswaldo Molina (9-0, 4 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico fights Pablo Rubio (15-0, 5 KOs) of Whittier, California six-round super featherweight bout. Molina, who made his Las Vegas debut with a six-round decision win in February, weighed-in at 131 ½ pounds on Friday. Rubio, who got off the deck twice to claim a decisive eight-round decision at the Meta APEX in March, scaled 131 pounds even.
Las Vegas-born Abel Gonzalez (8-0, 6 KOs) of Safety Harbor, Florida will take on veteran Raul Salomon (16-4-1, 14 KOs) of Long Beach, California by way of Ciudad Morelos, Baja California, Mexico in an eight-round super middleweight bout. Gonzalez, making his Zuffa Boxing debut, weighed-in at 167 ½ pounds, while Salomon, fighting at T-Mobile Arena for the second time this year, scaled 167 even.
In a six-round junior middleweight bout, Vlad Panin (24-2, 16 KOs) of Los Angeles, California by way of Gomel, Belarus looks to stay busy against Dakota Linger (17-7-3, 13 KOs) of Buckhannon, West Virginia. Panin, who stopped Shinard Bunch in his Zufffa Boxing debut in March, scaled 151 ½ pounds on Friday. Linger, best known for his stoppage of Kurt Scoby in April of 2024, weighed-in at 150 ½ pounds.
Unusually deep on an undercard, former unified junior welterweight champion Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-3, 18 KOs) of Avenal, California will take on Alexis Rocha (26-2, 16 KOs) of Irvine, California in a ten-round welterweight fight. Ramirez, looking to get back into the win column for the first time since April 2024, came in at 146 ½ pounds. Rocha, fresh off of a ten-round decision over Ramirez’s 2012 U.S. Olympic teammate Joseph Diaz this past March, also weighed-in at 146 ½ on Friday morning.
In the opener, Sean Garcia (7-1-1, 2 KOs) of Los Angeles will take on Abraham Morales (4-1, 2 KOs) of Oxnard, California in a six-round lightweight bout. Garcia, opening the show headlined by his older brother Ryan, came in at 134 on Friday. Morales, normally a super featherweight, also weighed-in at 134 pounds.
Quick Weigh-in Results
WBC Welterweight Championship, 12 Rounds
Garcia 145 ½
Benn 146
Ring Magazine Cruiserweight Championship
Zuffa Boxing Cruiserweight Championship, 12 Rounds
Opetaia 199
Mikaelian 200
Heavyweights, 8 Rounds
Vanhouter 231 ½
Akpejiori 246
Lightweights, 10 Rounds
Magsayo 134 ½
Cortes 135
Super featherweights, 6 Rounds
Molina 131 ½
Rubio 131
Super middleweights, 8 Rounds
Gonzalez 167 ½
Salomon 167
Light middleweights, 6 Rounds
Panin 151 ½
Linger 150 ½
Welterweights, 10 Rounds
Ramirez 146 ½
Rocha 146 ½
Lightweights, 6 Rounds
Garcia 134
Morales 134
Tickets for the event, promoted by Zuffa Boxing, are available online at AXS.com
Photos by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa Boxing
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com
