Ryan Garcia vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the matchup eating everybody’s timeline this week. Indonesian outlet VOI.ID ran a report on Oct. 28 describing a plan for the two to meet, and the idea went viral almost immediately. What didn’t travel with it was any of the paperwork. No date, no venue, no confirmation from either camp in anything we’ve seen, and nobody has spelled out whether this would be a sanctioned fight or an exhibition. Until someone signs something, file it under rumor with a very loud megaphone.
The timing makes sense. Garcia is a few weeks removed from stopping Conor Benn in Las Vegas on a Zuffa Boxing card, the one that had its ceremonial weigh-in on Sept. 11 at Paramount+ Plaza outside T-Mobile Arena. Benn, 30, sounded like a man stepping back after that one. “So when people ask me what’s next for Conor Benn, right now the answer is simple. Time with my kids,” he said after the loss. That lasted until a boxing.media Instagram post floated him against Conor McGregor, which Benn reshared to his story with the caption “Any day of the week”. Dana White has already said he isn’t interested in MMA vs. boxing crossovers, so don’t hold your breath on that one.
Meanwhile, Garcia holds the WBC belt in a welterweight division that is suddenly stacked with real fights. According to a Ring Magazine report relayed by MMA Mania, WBO champ Devin Haney (33-0-1) will face IBF champ Liam Paro (28-1) in a unification bout on Dec. 19 in San Francisco. Teofimo Lopez has the WBA super title, Jack Catterall has the WBA regular belt, and The Ring title sits vacant. Garcia has also been running his mouth in the best way. O’Shaquie Foster, after his win over Navarrete, pushed back on Garcia’s criticism of his résumé and disputed the way Garcia compared Ford and Benn.
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As for Mayweather, his name keeps attaching itself to every big-money idea in combat sports. Bloody Elbow noted this week that Floyd may believe a McGregor rematch is still possible, so a Garcia fight would be one more lottery ticket in a very full wallet. The one thing working in this matchup’s favor is that it’s boxer vs. boxer, which sidesteps White’s crossover objection entirely if Zuffa ever wanted a piece.
My take: I am the target audience for this nonsense. I love a press conference that turns into a food fight, and Garcia trading barbs with Floyd would sell itself before anyone posts a poster. But Garcia just beat Benn, holds a WBC strap, and has a 2027 menu that includes the Haney vs. Paro winner, Lopez and Catterall. If this turns into a glorified sparring session at pay-per-view prices while those unification fights sit on the shelf, fans are getting treated like ATMs again. Make it a real fight or make it a footnote. For now, the only welterweight title fight with an actual date on it is Haney vs. Paro, Dec. 19 in San Francisco.
