'Bottling it' - Garcia no-show for first Benn face-off

Ryan Garcia failed to attend a scheduled face-off with Conor Benn on Tuesday, Sept. 8, prior to their highly anticipated welterweight title fight on Saturday in Las Vegas. Benn expressed his disappointment upon arriving at the designated location, stating, "Guys, I apologize for Ryan doing what Ryan does." In response, Garcia posted an Instagram story showing himself playing video games, joking about Benn wasting time before the face-off.

Garcia also teased Benn's weight struggle to make the 147-pound limit for the weigh-in the following day, saying, "Back to the sauna you go…". Benn's father, Nigel, tried to maintain a sense of humor, joking about the possibility of his son backing down. Benn, however, warned Garcia, "He needs to get his (expletive) together because come Saturday he's in for a real, real shock."

Garcia, 28, will defend his WBC welterweight title for the first time since February's victory over Mario Barrios by unanimous decision. With a record of 25-2 and 20 knockouts, Garcia is set to face Benn, a 29-year-old British fighter with a 25-1 record and 14 knockouts. They are scheduled to meet at T-Mobile Arena, and will also engage in additional promotional events, if Garcia decides to participate.