Garcia-Benn Preview

 On August 22nd, Teofimo Lopez emerged victorious in becoming a three-division world champion when he scored a lopsided twelve round unanimous decision over WBA World Welterweight champion Rolando Romero at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. It was that fight that this observer speculated prior to it taking place, could have been the unofficial start of a four-boxer box-off as there was another world title fight that would take place in the same venue a few short weeks after Lopez ultimately defeated Romero. The second bout will be for the WBC World Welterweight championship as champion Ryan Garcia looks to make the first defense of his world title for the first time against top Welterweight contender Conor Benn in a twelve round bout that can be seen in the United States on digital subscription general entertainment network Paramount+ and internationally on digital subscription sports streaming DAZN either as a standalone pay-per-view option or included as part of a DAZN Ultimate subscription. 

What makes this fight interesting beyond it being the first title defense for Garcia, a fighter who has had some setbacks along the way in his career, but one who has evolved into one of the top stars in the sport of Boxing, is in this case he’s going against a fighter in Benn that not only has the lineage being the son of the legendary two-division world champion Nigel Benn, but Conor Benn has spent his recent fights fighting well above the 147lb. Welterweight division, having competed in two fights against Chris Eubank Jr., the son of his father’s rival Chris Eubank Sr. with those bouts taking place in the 168lb. Super-Middleweight division. Prior to those bouts, in which Benn went 1-1 against Eubank Jr., he was a career Welterweight and was on the verge of challenging for a world title before Garcia got his opportunities. The question here is after having gone up three weight classes for his last two fights, what condition will he be in after coming back down in weight for this world title opportunity.

There have been times throughout history where fighters either after having won world titles at higher weights or looking for an opportunity to challenge for a world title after competing at higher weights, have come back down in weight with not so successful results. Two notable examples this observer has thought of in recent days as I prepared to pen this column was first in February 1991, the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard  after winning world titles from the 147lb. Welterweight division to the 175lb. Light-Heavyweight division, moved down in weight after last competing in December 1989 in defense of his WBC Super-Middleweight world championship in his third fight against his longtime rival Roberto Duran, chose to take on WBC Jr. Middleweight world champion Terry Norris inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. From the opening bell, Norris administered a beating to Leonard, dropping him twice throughout the twelve round world championship bout and earning a wide unanimous decision victory to retain his title. After the fight right in the ring after the decision was announced, Leonard announced to the crowd in attendance that this would be his final fight and retired for six years before making another ill-fated combat in March 1997 when at age forty, he suffered the first knockout of his career when he was stopped in five rounds by the late great Hector “Macho” Camacho in five rounds inside the legendary Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. Leonard, as he had done after the loss to Norris, retired following being stopped by Camacho, never to fight again.

A second example came in March 2003 where Roy Jones, a fighter who won world titles from the 160lb. Middleweight division to the 175lb. Light-Heavyweight division moved up to challenge WBA World Heavyweight champion John Ruiz for his world title and scored a dominant twelve round unanimous decision to become a Heavyweight world champion and in doing so, became the first former Middleweight champion to successfully move up to Heavyweight and win a world title since Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897. As historic as that accomplish was and remains, following that fight, despite Jones not really having anything else to prove and being in a position where he could have retired with an unmatched legacy, he was still a unified Light-Heavyweight world champion at the time he beat Ruiz and opted to move back down in weight to defend his title against Antonio Tarver later in 2003. Jones looked very sluggish and struggled to retain his title in a controversial decision in November 2003. The decision, that many felt should have gone Tarver’s way, fueled demand for an immediate rematch in May 2004. In that rematch, Tarver scored a second round one punch knockout of Jones, and from that point until Jones retired, having competed in his last official fight in 2023, was never the same fighter and his reflexes, punch resistance, and reaction time were clearly compromised after that knockout loss. Whether that was due to moving back down in weight after defeating Ruiz, or the effect of the knockout at the hands of Tarver in the second fight of what became a trilogy is a subject that will be debated by Boxing fans and historians such as yours truly. If one were to ask my opinion on the subject with regard to Jones, I believe it was a combination of both the drop back down in weight as well as the first of what became five knockouts Jones would go on to suffer throughout the remainder of his career that contributed to his decline.

In this case, we are talking about a fighter in Conor Benn that is a lot closer to his physical prime than either Leonard or Jones were when they opted to move back down in weight. Whether or not it will have negative physical effects in this fight or moving beyond this fight remains to be seen. The loss of mass that one puts on as they are preparing to move up in weight is something to consider as this fight approaches, though the fact that Benn is closer to his prime might be to his benefit in that his body might be able to respond better than both Leonard and Jones were as in addition to age and moving up in weight throughout their careers, both had been through their share of grueling battles, which no doubt contributed to their decline.

In terms of the fight itself, both Garcia and Benn have shown that they can do a little of everything and each have the type of explosive punching power that if they connect, they can end a fight with either hand. What this fight will come down to in my eyes is who will be able to take the initiative and whether they will be able to maintain that pace for however long the fight lasts. 

Whether or not this fight does indeed lead to a showdown later this year with the recently crowned WBA Welterweight world champion Teofimo Lopez also remains to be seen. With Lopez having put on a stellar performance a few short weeks ago, however, it will be up to Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn to take the attention off of Lopez and put it on themselves. If that translates into a great fight, even better for Boxing as a whole. 

“And That's The Boxing Truth." 

Garcia vs. Benn takes place on Saturday, September 12th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The fight as well as its full undercard can be seen in the United States on general entertainment subscription streaming network Paramount+ beginning at 4PM ET/1PM PT and will be included with a Paramount+ subscription.

For more information about Paramount+ including schedules, list of compatible devices, platforms, Smart TVs, and to subscribe please visit: www.ParamountPlus.com. 

Internationally, the card can be seen on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN either as a standalone pay-per-view option or included as part of a DAZN Ultimate subscription. For more information about DAZN including schedules,list of compatible streaming devices, platforms,Smart TVs, availability around the world, local start times and region specific pricing in your area, to subscribe or purchase this event as a standalone offering please visit: www.DAZN.com. 

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BOXING ICONS ROY JONES JR. AND AL BERNSTEIN TO CALL “FIGHTS UNDER THE LIGHTS” LIVE FOR THE DEBUT OF THE COMBATVISIONTV PLATFORM

Credit: Mario Serrano/CombatVisionTV

 Press Release: August 11, 2026 By Mario Serrano/CombatVisionTV  - HOUSTON, TEXAS  – Great fight nights have a certain feel to them. The setting matters. The fighters matter. And when the lights come on and the opening bell rings, the voices telling the story matter, too.

On Friday, August 14, 2026, Boxing Hall of Famers Roy Jones Jr. and Al Bernstein will reunite behind the microphone play-by-play announcers at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas, as BiYu Promotions launches its new boxing series, “Fights Under the Lights.” Joining them on the broadcast team will be Hector Camacho Jr. and undefeated female professional boxer Jewry Rodriguez, giving the inaugural broadcast a combination of Hall of Fame knowledge, personality, and perspectives from multiple generations of the sport.

The event will air live worldwide on the debut of CombatVisionTV.com and CombatVisionTV App, a new streaming platform created by boxing promoter, Bobby Harrison. With few televised boxing events scheduled anywhere in the world that day, August 14 gives “Fights Under the Lights” a chance to have the boxing spotlight largely to itself, and CombatVisionTV plans to make the most of it.

Jones Jr. knows better than most what makes a fight worth watching. During a remarkable career that saw him win world championships across four weight divisions, he built a reputation for doing things inside a boxing ring that few fighters could duplicate. Now, from ringside, he sees an August 14 card filled with the ingredient he believes makes boxing compelling: fighters with something to prove.

“When you put young, hungry fighters in there with something on the line, you’re going to get good fights,” said Jones Jr. “A lot of these guys are undefeated, they’re trying to move their careers forward, and nobody wants that first loss. That brings something different out of a fighter. These are the kinds of fights where you find out who’s ready to take that next step. I think the fans are going to enjoy what they see.”

Sitting alongside Jones will be one of the most familiar and respected voices in boxing, Al Bernstein. For Bernstein, the night carries an interesting bit of history. Despite the decades both men have spent around the sport, Jones and Bernstein have worked a boxing broadcast together only once before. It just happened to be one of the biggest fights ever staged…Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao in 2015. More than a decade later, they finally get to do it again.

“It’s kind of amazing when you think about it,” said Bernstein. “The only boxing broadcast Roy and I have ever worked together was Mayweather-Pacquiao. So, I’m really looking forward to sitting next to him again and calling these fights. Roy brings a perspective that very few people can bring because of what he accomplished and what he understands about being inside that ring. And this is a fun card for us. You have undefeated fighters, championship fights and young prospects trying to show people who they are. Those are the nights where interesting things tend to happen.”

The broadcast will have even more boxing experience around the ring with Hector Camacho Jr. joining the team. The son of the late three-division world champion and boxing icon Hector “Macho” Camacho, Camacho Jr. grew up around the sport and went on to build a professional career of his own. He brings a fighter’s understanding of the game along with the personality and energy that has long been associated with the Camacho name.

Rounding out the team is undefeated professional female boxer Jewry Rodriguez, who brings something different to the broadcast: the perspective of an active fighter still living the sport every day. Rodriguez understands firsthand what today’s young fighters experience during camp, in the dressing room, and in those final moments before the bell rings.

Together, Jones, Bernstein, Camacho Jr., and Rodriguez give CombatVisionTV a broadcast team that can see a fight from every angle, from Hall of Fame accomplishments and decades of broadcasting experience to the perspective of fighters who know exactly what it feels like when the ropes close behind them.

That combination of established boxing names and fighters still building theirs is exactly what Bobby Harrison wants CombatVisionTV to represent. Harrison created the platform around a straightforward idea…there is good boxing happening all over the world, but too much of it never reaches a large audience. He wants CombatVisionTV to help change that.

“There are talented fighters competing in cities all over the world, and a lot of boxing fans never get the opportunity to see them,” said Harrison, founder of CombatVisionTV. “That’s really where the idea came from. We want to give fighters a place to be seen, give promoters another way to showcase their events, and most importantly, give boxing fans good fights they can watch from wherever they are.”

For Harrison, that also means treating every broadcast like it matters.

Putting together a team featuring Jones, Bernstein, Camacho Jr., and Rodriguez for the first “Fights Under the Lights” is part of establishing that standard from day one.

“If we’re asking boxing fans to spend their time watching CombatVisionTV, then we owe them a quality product,” Harrison said. “We want good matchmaking, good production, knowledgeable people talking about the fights, and fighters who come to win. Having Roy Jones Jr., Al Bernstein, Hector Camacho Jr., and Jewry Rodriguez as part of our first broadcast says a lot about what we’re trying to build. Our goal is to produce some of the best boxing shows we can and make CombatVisionTV a real home for the sport. August 14 is where that journey starts.”

UNBEATEN FIGHTERS PUT IT ALL ON THE LINE

The first “Fights Under the Lights” card gives the broadcast team plenty to talk about. The 10-round main event is a true battle of unbeaten light heavyweights as local favorite Chavon Stillwell (10-0, 8 KOs) meets Izaiah Dent (10-0, 9 KOs) for the WBA/NABA Light Heavyweight Championship. Between them, Stillwell and Dent have 20 victories, 17 by knockout and neither man has experienced defeat as a professional. Something will have to give in Sugar Land.

The eight-round co-main event keeps the Texas flavor going as undefeated Houston fighter Jahyden Britton (9-0, 6 KOs) faces San Antonio’s hard-punching Bruno Pola Ruiz (11-4-2, 9 KOs) for the WBA/NABA Super Middleweight Championship.

Beyond the two title fights, the undercard will showcase a collection of undefeated prospects and rising stars looking to make their own statements.

Among them are two fighters who already know what it means to have an audience.

Undefeated professional prospects Steven and Daniel Grandy, better known as the Grandy Twins, return to the ring as two of the evening’s featured attractions.

The twins have built an audience that stretches well beyond boxing through social media and appearances on the Steve Harvey Show, Good Morning America, ESPN and FOX Sports. On August 14, however, the focus returns to what first put them on this path, their ability inside the ring. For both brothers, “Fights Under the Lights” provides another opportunity to turn online recognition into recognition within the boxing world.

For CombatVisionTV, it is fitting that a new series and a new streaming platform will begin in a venue experiencing boxing in a new way itself. There will be championship belts at stake. Undefeated records will be on the line. Young fighters will have an opportunity to introduce themselves to a worldwide audience.

Around the ring will be a broadcast team representing several generations of the fight game. Roy Jones Jr. and Al Bernstein are together again. Hector Camacho Jr. brings another familiar boxing name and fighter’s perspective to the table. And Jewry Rodriguez brings the voice of an undefeated fighter still chasing her own goals inside the ring.

Material and Photo Courtesy of: Mario Serrano/CombatVisionTV

For more information about CombatVisionTV and to learn where to download the CombatVisionTV app on Friday, August 14th please visit: https://combatvisiontv.com/ 

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.