Original subtitles

In boxing, everyone wants their moment in the spotlight.

A chance to prove that every sacrifice made, every hardship endured, was worth

the road traveled.

Because beneath those lights, a fighter can define how that journey will

be remembered.

And on Mexican Independence Weekend in Las Vegas, Four fighters will step

beneath them. Different roads, same destination.

Each ready to prove their road ends with a hand raised and a legacy further

defined.

The higher the moment, the more focused you have to be.

This is why you get punched in the face, why you go through the pressure. The

moments before that bell rings and you're looking at them, that's when it

gets real.

For Ryan Garcia, the spotlight is nothing new.

One of boxing's biggest stars.

This kid is a superstar!

And in February, Garcia reached a milestone years in the making.

Defeating Mario Barrios to become WBC welterweight champion.

A lot of fire, turmoil.

It built me into the champion I am.

But to be a champion in this sport, you have to defend it.

The first challenger?

Connor Benn.

The son of British boxing legend, Nigel Benn. He's become one of the sport's

most relentless and recognizable stars.

But one thing has remained out of reach.

A world championship.

It's a 5-3 WBC title.

Same title.

My dad had the stars of the line. I need to get that world title. And he's in the

way.

It's always personal.

And the main event won't be the only world championship at stake. At

cruiserweight, undefeated Jai Opetiah.

30 fights, 23 knockouts, and a reputation for delivering violence

every time he steps into the ring. Slip up, one fucking shot, you're gone.

Now he gets the biggest stage of his career to prove he's deserving of it.

I'm that guy.

Standing across from him will be a man with no intention of becoming knockout

number 24.

The Armenian-born Noel Mikhalian has spent more than a decade fighting his

way through the cruiserweight division and a world championship of his own.

He comes to Las Vegas as the Dark Horse and perhaps the biggest threat yet to

Obataya's perfect record.

A lot of people can't miss an underdog, but I'm sure my head will be raised.

Four fighters, two world championships.

This is their story.

I don't think people understand the levels I go to master the craft.

This fight is going to be extraordinary.

Ten years of hard work, suffering, pressure.

It's for this fight.

It's for this moment.

On September 12th, they'll share the same spotlight.

And beneath it...

There will be nowhere to hide.

Ready to put it all on the line.

This is what it takes.

I'm gonna knock this guy out. I'm gonna render him unconscious.

He's just not good enough to beat me.

I'm gonna go in there and destroy this man.

This is Road to Garcia vs.

Ben.

With the fight booked, Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn descend on New York City

ahead of their September 12th showdown.

A championship clash set for Mexican Independence Weekend, one of boxing's

most revered stages, long reserved for the sport's biggest stars.

And in Garcia and Benn, boxing has two fighters seemingly built for the

occasion these two guys you see why they make a big fight ryan garcia whatever

you want to say about him has explosive power and ridiculous hand speak he has

10 million social media followers and connor ben like you look at them they

look like a fight in a movie where you would cast guys the two of them look

like hollywood right For a British fighter to go over and headline, see my

ballerina fight for the WBC world title in a sellout is big.

On paper, a fight like this doesn't need much selling.

Rate Conor out of 10.

Power. Life.

Horror. Dude.

Boxing IQ.

I will make him quit.

Makes me look like someone who's competed at Super Middleweight. You

think I'm worried about what a lightweight can do to me?

I mean, he's a big star.

This is a chance to prove if he's at a super, super high level, but I don't

think so.

But selling a fight means putting its stars in the same room.

Both their styles, when you match them up, I believe it's not going to

distance. I think somebody's going to get knocked out.

King Ryan, Ryan Garcia.

And when Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn enter the same room... Who's got the

first question?

Things have a way of happening.

Question for Connor Ben.

Brian says he's going to steal your aura during the fight. How do you feel about

that? I'm not really too concerned about his little influence to my right. He can

say whatever he wants. Ain't going to make no difference come September the

12th. Yeah, 12 round war proven.

I'm going to knock him out five and below.

This not be a 12 round war. He's not good enough to beat me. You think this

man's going to beat me? You think I'm going to let a guy from the UK come here

and beat me and take my belt? You lost your mind.

He can clown around and shout as loud as he wants.

The loudest ones in the room are the weakest ones in the room.

You won't do shit. I promise you won't do shit. I promise you won't do shit.

Because long before this fight was signed, there

was bad blood.

At the ring awards, he was really cool with me and saying, what's up, blah,

blah, blah.

How's that going?

How does it go? You tell me.

We'll see. That's what they all say. But somehow I find the target every time.

No, I'm serious.

He was looking for a moment.

The most goofiest shit you could probably do because it was so

unprovoked.

Ultimately,

I'll tell you, it's personal.

For me, I just want his title.

And he's in the way.

You keep running your mouth. Easy work. Easy work.

Easy work. Easy work. Easy work.

Easy work.

Easy work.

Easy work. Easy work. Easy work.

Easy work.

I don't think Connor understands how much I actually do love the game of

boxing.

I don't think he understands how much I actually know about boxing.

I think that he just sees me as talented, but he doesn't know all the

levels I go to master the craft.

I just don't think he understands how good I am.

Talent has always been the easy label for Ryan Garcia. But after a lifetime

spent honing these gifts, what once looked instinctive has become something

far more refined.

And far more dangerous.

Nobody could really do it as good as me. That's just the truth.

You're just seeing the next evolution of me.

Ryan Garcia's game may have evolved, but his most dangerous advantage is perhaps

the simplest.

Speed kills.

Ryan's skills have helped make him boxing's most followed figure.

But whether inside the ring or beyond it, Ryan Garcia has always done things

his way.

But beneath the celebrity, his identity has always started in the ring.

Brian did a very good job in social media. But they got to know who you

really are. And people never knew his history.

I remember I begged to leave and I was like, I don't know if I was seven or

eight. I was hitting the mitts.

And everybody would just stop and stare at me.

And then I had that sense of, I want to entertain the people looking at me.

Like, oh, they're watching?

I'm going to go harder.

I was really talented sparring people, beating up everybody,

winning national titles consistently.

I started posting videos, and once I realized my sister had 10K followers, I

was like, oh, I'm going to get more. She was like, no, you won't. I was like, all

right.

I hit 10K and I was like, bro, I'm not going to stop. And I went, I just kept

going crazy.

It became a game to me. I'm going to post this, I'm going to post this, post

this. And then one day I posted a video and it went nuts. It's like, who's this

boxer? Guys liked it, girls liked it.

He just came with a lot of hate, you know.

Instagram fighter, you're not shit, you don't fight nobody, offer it. I just

kept on knocking people out, though.

Every chance I had, I knocked them out. I would post those videos and knock

somebody out. It was like a rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat.

He was knocking people out.

And that's like being a baseball player and hitting home runs.

In every fight that he had, the crowd would get bigger and bigger and bigger.

Ryan was loving it. He loved the attention. He knew that things were

growing.

So many fun moments. So many great times.

A lot of bad moments, controversies.

By the time Devin Haney stood across from him, the chaos surrounding Ryan had

become as much a part of the story as the fight itself.

For the Devin Haney fight, there's something deeper than boxing.

That's why I told people, it's not a boxing match to me. The thoughts in my

brain were bad.

What do you guys want me to say? I've already said everything.

I'll break this whole thing right now. That's how I'm firing. I'm strong.

I'm strong.

I'm strong.

And on top of that, I'm fucking in La La Land.

Something is wrong with this motherfucker.

I'm going to tell you, something's wrong with him. This shit not normal.

Drinking, not giving a fuck.

I'm real.

I'm like this. I do drink. I do smoke. Now what?

People were asking me about the fight. I don't care about the fight. I don't care

how I beat him up.

I wanted to hurt him, but really, really bad.

What prevails, discipline or disorder?

The antics only fueled the belief that he was outmatched.

Haney entered as an overwhelming favorite.

Garcia, the massive underdog.

But doubt had always brought something out of Ryan Garcia.

And under the brightest spotlight, it did again.

Did he do enough?

Three knockdowns usually does the trick.

Ryan Garcia!

The victory would prove to be short-lived.

In a stunning blow, Ryan tested positive for the banned substance Austrin,

putting the biggest win of his career in jeopardy. Such an unfortunate thing if

you think about his performance against Devin, because that was incredible.

Just felt like a truly set-up.

They know I was tested all the way through the whole camp, and it was just

a very frustrating moment in time.

The result was ultimately overturned, and Ryan was suspended from the sport

for a year.

I dealt with it horribly.

Drinking, doing whatever I wanted to do.

There's so many things that pull you different directions.

It's easy to become distracted. Very easy.

A year away gave Garcia distance from the chaos.

but not necessarily answers.

And when he finally returned, the comeback only brought another setback.

A loss to Rolando Romero sent his career to a new low. With

his career again at a crossroads, Ryan looked back to where it all began.

Narrowing his focus meant returning to something familiar.

Someone who knew Ryan long before the fame, the controversy, or the

expectations.

I actually got a text.

I didn't even get a phone call.

Hey, Dad, how would you like to be my trainer right now for this championship?

I was like, what?

Okay. I'm like, sure. I said, you know, let's do it.

During the Mario Barrios camp, I had a change of mentality.

My back was against the wall, so it kind of forced me to narrow things down.

And I didn't know if I was going to get an opportunity like that again.

I had to rebuild my body. I chose discipline and I chose to be a

professional.

He promised us a Ryan Garcia classic, and boy, did he deliver.

You learn your lessons, and then you move forward.

Did I have to get through a lot of fire, turmoil, controversy?

Yes, but ultimately, it built me into the fighter and now the champion I am.

A championship performance against Mario Barrios may have delivered Ryan the WBC

title.

But for a fighter who has spent so much of his life chasing, and living under

the spotlight.

Defending it may require drawing on something more personal than ever

before.

I don't do it for the applause really.

I do it for something that's deep inside my soul and things that I hold true to

me.

My whole career has been filled with setbacks.

They test every part of you.

But then I always find my way back home.

It was a lot of soul searching, and this is the next evolution of me.

This is fire.

Oh!

What a shot!

He's out!

See how quick that was?

This is going to be a really, really beautiful performance.

He's just not good enough to beat me.

It's the bitter truth.

For him.

Sweet truth for me.

Across the Atlantic, another fighter prepares for the same moment. But for

Connor Benn, what awaits in Las Vegas is a chance to add something of his own to

a family legacy decades in the making.

I mean, this fight is a legacy fight for the same title my dad fought for.

His father, Nigel, had already carried the Benn name to the top of the sport,

becoming a multi-time world champion, including a WBC crown and one of

Britain's biggest fighting stars.

At home, he tried to make certain his son knew him only as dad.

I, like, knew my dad, but I didn't know my dad was this Hall of Famer, legend in

the game.

He shielded me from that.

Even to this day now, we never watch boxing together.

We never watch none of my fights.

Ever.

He didn't want me to follow in his footsteps.

He worked as hard as he did so I didn't have to live the life he lived.

Me being in the army, I was a disciplinarian with Connor.

He didn't have it easy.

He had it hard. I didn't give him nothing. He used to ring Mum, Mum, could

you send an extra £20? I need some fishing chips.

He didn't really understand the Ben name until he came to England and started

training.

I was 19 years old, lived in an island in Majorca for the majority of my life.

Then we moved to Sydney and then I moved back to the UK.

Nigel brought him over to the gym. That was the first time I had seen him or met

him. I put him in for the spa and he put the kid down in the first round.

Just straight away you could see there was something there in Connor Benn.

The spotlight was on him straight from the beginning. Obviously, he's Nigel

Benn's son, so there was a bit of pressure on the kid.

He can box, and he can bang, and he can fight. That's already in him.

To me, I will always be my dad's shadow.

What a great place to be.

My dad's my hero, he's my legend, he's my idol, he's my everything.

He's just my dad to me. When I watch him fight on YouTube, I'm like, God, that's

my dad, man. He's a living legend.

Just like his dad, Conor quickly ascended through the ranks.

It's very

rare that great champions have great sons who boss.

He's on the brink of winning the world title.

No matter what I achieve, no matter what I go to do in the sport, it'll only be

one Nigel Benn.

If I'm half the man my dad is, I'll be a happy man.

So as far from ever leaving my dad's shadow?

No, I never will.

Undefeated at 21-0, Connor Benn appeared to be closing in on the defining fight

of his career.

Then two positive drug tests brought everything to a halt. As the process

unfolded, judgment moved faster than the truth.

The fight for Connor's career became inseparable from a far more private

fight to preserve the man beneath him.

It was a major shock, and it was ridiculous to even think it because I

knew that he wouldn't do anything like that.

If I ever thought my son was taking performing arts and drugs, mate, I'd

hang him out.

I had to go through a case for two and a half years and for me that time was the

hardest traumatic time of my life.

Radio shows, TV shows, non-stop, all finding him guilty before the actual

trial come about.

I was touch and go every day.

I couldn't even go down to the gym.

I was battling depression.

I was suicidal because I was scared to wake up to the same reality I was

living.

I spent six months just staying with my son because he was in a really dark

place, hurting, hurting.

I'm shaking, I'm getting ill, my bed's covered in sweat most nights.

It was just horrible.

Listen, boxing's a small part of a big life.

I had that look in the mirror, I'm just going, do you know what?

With or without boxing?

you have a priority here to be the best version of yourself you can be say tough

times make tough people each day gets easier you learn to process them

emotions and i believe that he's come out at the other end of that a more

tougher experience and wiser person i'm looking myself in the mirror going

connor this isn't who you are that for me was what shows me who i am what sort

of man i am i look back and i just gotta thank god that you know i'm still here

today After a two-year legal battle failed to prove Conor guilty, his

suspension was lifted. He was finally and fully vindicated. But returning to

the ring was only the beginning.

Now it was about reclaiming the career and the championship future that had

nearly been taken away from him. This is the really important part, right?

Boom, boom. Watch the back leg. Step.

And the road back would eventually lead somewhere deeply familiar.

to a rivalry that had begun three decades earlier.

Nothing more compared to the first Eubank fight.

It felt like the whole nation had come to a standstill.

You're only really talking a 30-year feud.

One of the greatest British rivalries of all time.

In the 1990s, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank were two of British boxing's

biggest stars and fiercest rivals.

They fought twice.

Eubank winning the first, and the second ending in a draw.

Two fights that defined an era, but never truly settled the score.

More than 30 years later, their sons would inherit it. Two silver spoon kids.

To show it don't matter whether you come from a life of luxury or not.

Fight with this.

That's what we fight with.

It was a tough fight to take.

Jumping up two weight divisions, being a period of inactivity.

Everybody was on his back.

A lot of stick from Eubank. He cannot beat me, that's for sure. This is the

end of your career.

I can't wait to smash the eggs out of Conor Benn.

Oh!

Tempest flare in there.

He got carried away emotionally with what Eubank was saying to him.

He'd done exactly what I'd done with Eubank the first fight.

It was like just sheer anger.

And Conor!

Oh, good shot from Eubank.

And suddenly it swung more in favor of Eubank. Here comes Eubank. Ben Hurts.

The winner is Eubank Jr.

I still feel that fight was mine.

I felt like I had won, but I didn't win.

So for me to lose on points, it was the hard-pilled swallow.

It wasn't just another defeat.

It was another crossroads, not because of what he lost, but because the way

forward would require a different kind of strength.

The second fight, he didn't let Eubank get into his mind, and he followed

tactics totally to what we were doing in the gym.

The electricity ripping through this wonderful stadium.

This is what big-time boxing's about.

And then I come back and I avenged it.

It was like the best feeling ever. I don't know if anything will ever come

close to that feeling.

Yeah, it's been a journey.

Four, three, two, one.

Starting to feel like... powerful, man.

He's actually gone beyond my wildest dreams, I think, what he's achieved

already, to finish up fighting for the world title.

Wow. And this WBC, I call it the premier belt, to go and fight that and fight

someone like Ryan Garcia.

He's me.

Like the apple don't fall far from the tree. He's me.

More good than bad.

Definitely more good than bad. We are who we are because of what we put

into the game.

You know, it's not like he ain't living off of my name. He's in his own lane.

Everything that he's got, he's worked hard.

The name opens doors and the name has helped me get to where I've got to, but

you've still got to put in the work because no one's in there fighting for

you. Let me give 110% and just see where the ceiling's at.

And clearly it's world on us For all the legacy Connor

been inherited and all that still lies ahead he's begun building something of

his own With a life and a family far away from the noise

It's peaceful here it's quiet It's nice when you have all that the madness

going in your life, and then you just come home

This is our lake.

We've got a family of ducks, and we've seen the ducks be born.

And we've seen the family, which is lovely.

My missus was adamant she wanted our hockers.

They're really weird things.

They don't even, like, respond to anything anyway.

You've got to pretend like you're not interested, and then they'll come up to

you. What did I say? That I told you, like...

See, it's him.

He's the feisty one. See the others here, they stay clear.

Going to build a paddle court.

Going to build a cinema.

You make it like a place where you literally don't have to leave.

Because in an ideal world, I never have to leave my home.

Is he hungry?

Yeah. He's starting to eat me. I do this for my family.

I do this for the Ben name. I do this for...

My legacy, you know, and that's my drive.

Well, I've got to now leave next week to go to America for five weeks. So for me,

I go, actually, I'm being pretty selfish.

I say it's legacy for me.

I say it's selfish because I want to be the best. I want to be number one.

I want to be, I want to be.

Not them, they don't care. They just want me to be around them.

Ultimately, you have to be selfish in this game. And for me, I put nothing

before winning this world title.

Is it any easier? No, of course it ain't. It's painful.

But you have to be selfish.

I need to get that world title.

The need for championship glory will resolve itself in Las Vegas in the

welterweight division.

But on September 12th, the cruiserweight world title may just steal the

spotlight.

Because lurking beneath the main event is one of the sport's most destructive

fighters.

Undefeated cruiserweight champion Jai Obataya.

Every fight changes my life.

Every victory writes a new chapter.

For much of his career, Jai Obataya has been an if-you-know-you-know fighter.

Revered by those inside the sport.

But his ethos fit the exact mold Dana White and Zufa Boxing were looking for

back in January.

What's up, gang?

I've got a job to do, and that's win fights.

Without winning fights, all these meetings, meeting fancy people, means

nothing. Just looking straight ahead.

You're there to make a statement every time you fight.

These guys are going to be making the big fights happen.

That would earn its phone around our gym a lot.

We're going to earn it.

That's what we're here to do.

We've got to step in the ring and put on a show.

For Opitaya, putting on a show has often meant putting opponents away with

devastating power.

You slip up, one fucking shot, you're gone.

I'm that guy.

Opitaya has become known for inflicting pain across the cruiserweight division.

But boxing is as much about what pain you can take as what you can inflict.

In his first bout against Myrus Breedis, Opetiah proved he could do both.

Opetiah challenging the best cruiserweight for his title.

When he won that IBF title, there was nothing that was going to beat him that

day. Oh, big shot.

He's hurt Opetiah.

We just had the box.

I just had to keep on.

That granite jaw might be broken by the looks of it.

Bruised and bloodied and perhaps broken.

I've had to learn to turn a bit of pain into motivation.

With the title around his waist, Opetiah's rise only accelerated,

dispatching contender after contender as he established himself as the division's

most dangerous force.

By March, that momentum had carried into Zufa boxing.

where Brandon Glanton became the first man to test him under its banner.

When you're on the world championship level, I believe it just becomes down to

minimal mistakes.

There's a lot of danger for Brandon Glanton.

That guy was tough as nails.

His face was battered and he just had no equipment.

Put someone in front of me, I've got to beat them.

It's that simple. Like, it's just a way of life.

Well, it's fucking pain and sacrifice, so it just pays off, man. We're just

going to keep pushing forward.

At 30-0, with 23 finishes, the future of the cruiserweight division appears to

belong to Jai Obataya. But it is not without challengers.

Noel McAleon is also a world champion.

Battle-tested through 31 professional fights, a man no opponent has ever been

able to put away.

Yet for all he's accomplished, Much of his career has unfolded outside boxing

spotlight.

Toiling in obscurity on under-promoted events, Noel's abilities have long been

overlooked.

To understand why Mikhailian believes he belongs in the ring with anyone, you

have to understand where he came from.

I was born in Armenia, in the capital, in Yerevan. At that time, there was

still war going on with Azerbaijan.

So my parents decided to immigrate to Germany.

Going up, I always liked combat sports.

My parents decided to take me to Taekwondo.

It was very difficult because I was only using my fists.

My dad was a professional boxing European champion and he engaged me to

start training.

Long story short, I started my professional boxing career in Germany.

I wanted to be a world champion.

I was like, just do it and see how far you can come.

It's a high-risk sport, but no risk, no fun.

If you follow my career, a lot of people had me as an underdog.

I feel comfortable as an underdog because it keeps me hungry, keeps me

focused, keeps me sharp.

Throughout his rise, Mikaeli untested himself against some of the division's

most dangerous fighters.

Among them, Myrus Breedis, the same man who broke Opitaya's jaw during their

world title fight.

Though Noel was handed a decision loss, the results remained controversial, with

many believing he deserved to have his hand raised.

People can have their opinions, but we're experts in boxing and we know

what's real.

Michaelian's next defining moment would come with a world title on the line. In

December, he defeated Badou Jack to claim the WBC Cruiserweight

Championship. You gotta respect what Michaelian's doing. He's just continuing

to work. And new Noel Michaelian!

A world title may have changed his resume.

It didn't change how easily Michaelian could be overlooked. That combination

has earned him a fitting label.

the dark horse of the cruiserweight division.

Now, Jay, this is my next big fight, and I don't have no pressure.

All the pressure is always on the guy who everybody wants to see win.

Really turn your hip.

Once you turn your hip, you'll expand it.

Boxing is second nature to me.

I'm fourth generation of my father, so it didn't come easy.

We worked very hard.

And as a dad, I think I was a bit hard on him, but it was hard love.

Left hand.

From the start, my dad used to chuck me in the ring with anyone.

So it was sort of sink or swim.

Actually, you know, I was 16 years old and fighting these grown men.

When you're a kid fighting these guys, you've got no power.

You've got to hit and not get hit.

And I was just training and fighting and trying to win.

I just wanted to be good at boxing.

Now, I feel like I'm on the right path to becoming the best.

Everyone sacrificed for this.

Not just me.

My dad, my family. Who am I to waste that?

I don't know who's overlooking him because I'm not.

This guy's trying to take what's mine.

I'm taking this very serious.

I've got no clue what his game plan is.

but I'm preparing for war.

Jay, he's a world champion too.

He can fight technically.

He can take a punch.

I wouldn't call myself a veteran, but I think I'm more experienced.

There's a strategy for every season, so I'm pretty sure my hand will be raised.

I'm expecting a hard fight.

On September 12th, my hand has to be raised.

Whatever it takes.

You know what is coming your way on September 12th.

Live from the fight capital of the world, the year's biggest night of

boxing, Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn go to war.

Throughout the history of boxing, Mexican Independence Day weekend has

always been one of the dates on the calendar where the biggest fights

happen. On September 12th, on Paramount+, Ryan Garcia defends his belt

versus Conor Benn. This fight is going to be awesome.

Lightning fast hands, a devastating left hook.

If he defends his title in spectacular fashion, this kid's going to be the face

of boxing.

It's the reason he has 10 million social media followers.

This is where I'm supposed to be.

After I win, I'll prove myself as one of the greats.

But Conor Benn is a destroyer. Son of UK boxing legend Nigel Benn.

If Conor Benn can beat Ryan Garcia, he is the next big superstar in the UK.

That is my legacy.

I have to give everything I've got. I'm going to knock this guy out.

He needs to be careful to step in that ring with me. I'm going to destroy him.

This is going to be something you do not want to miss.

The best 200-pound boxer on the planet is back.

Jai Obataya and Noel McKellian, they do battle at 200 pounds.

Jai Obataya is an absolute monster.

30-0, undefeated with 23 knockouts, and he is back down from nobody.

There's only one best in the world, and that's fucking me.

But Noel McKellian is also a world champion.

He is determined to hand Obataya his first loss.

Two champions are colliding, and the winner of this fight will be the number

one cruiserweight.

I promise you, this will not be a 12-round war. He's not good enough.

I'll come up here and smack them glasses straight off your face.

Now,

there's nothing left to say.

Only the fight remains.