Conor Benn named mandatory challenger for Ryan Garcia vs. Mario Barrios winner

During the recent WBC convention in Thailand, there was plenty of news surrounding the landscape of boxing including major future matchups such as Moses Itauma vs. Lawrence Okolie in a Heavyweight eliminator fight, as well as Light Heavyweight eliminator between Ben Whittaker vs Joshua Buatsi. During the convention it was also revealed that Terence Crawford had been stripped of his WBC Super Middleweight title.

But one of the more intriguing future matchups is one that will see Conor Benn face off against the winner of the upcoming fight between WBC Welterweight champion, Mario Barrios, and Ryan Garcia, which is on tap for Feb. 21, 2026.

Benn (24-1) is coming off an impressive and dominant win over Chris Eubank just last month in London, England that saw him drop Eubank multiple times in the final round to exact revenge from his loss to him earlier in the year. Now, the brawling Brit has a chance to secure his first-ever non-European world title in 2026.

As for Barrios (29-2-2), he was able to retain his strap after his fight against Manny Pacquiao earlier this year was ruled a majority draw (relive it here). One fight before that, his contest against Abel Ramos was scored a split draw. Now, he will attempt to once again hold on to his title more convincingly against Garcia, who recently had his WBC ban lifted, allowing him to compete for a world title.