Promoter Eddie Hearn says Turki Alalshikh is interested in a fight between Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn on Cinco de Mayo weekend on May 5, 2026 in Las Vegas.
Turki’s Cinco de Mayo Vision
The Garcia-Benn scenario will only play out if Ryan (24-2, 20 KOs) prevails in his title challenge against WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios on February 21, 2026. Understandably, Turki wants the Ryan vs. Benn fight, not the Barrios-Conor clash.
Haney left out in the cold
The loser from all of this is Devin Haney, who is still clinging to his dream of getting a lucrative rematch with Ryan next in 2026 to avenge his April 2024 loss.
“(Turki Alalshikh) wants to see Conor fight Ryan Garcia on Cinco De Mayo (May 5 weekend) in Las Vegas,” promoter Eddie Hearn said. TalkSport.
Ryan vs. Benn is the mega fight, the one that the boxing public would be much more interested in seeing than a fight involving Barrios and Conor.
Haney recently won the WBO welterweight title on Nov. 22, and he wants a unification match with Garcia if he captures the WBC 147-lb title. Devin fighting Ryan on Cinco de Mayo weekend in 2026 would mean a bigger purse for him. So, he won’t be happy to see Kingry face Conor Benn on that holiday instead of him.
Ryan-Benn = Global Box Office
The cold, hard reality is that Benn is a star in the UK, and Ryan is very popular in the US. It is the perfect fight that is sold worldwide. In contrast, Haney is unpopular and has an ugly, non-crowd-pleasing fighting style. He’s more of a fighter useful for playing the villain role for fights, but that’s about it. His career is still floating, but his fights are not interesting to the public.
Earlier this week, the WBC elevated Benn (24-1, 14 KOs) to the #1 mandatory for the 147-lb belt held by Mario Barrios, putting him next in line for the winner of the Barrios-Ryan fight.
Last updated on 12/04/2025
