Benn uncertain about future after defeat against Garcia

Conor Benn says he doesn’t know what the next step in his career will be after his crushing world title loss to Ryan Garcia.

The British was he stopped in the second round on Saturday – only his second defeat in his 10-year professional career – as American Garcia retained his WBC welterweight crown in Las Vegas.

Benn, 29, was fighting at welterweight for the first time in more than four years and had said the bout would be his last in the division.

“Everyone keeps asking ‘what’s next for Conor Benn? The truth is, I don’t have the answer,'” he wrote on Instagram.

“I have always wanted to be a servant of the public and give everything I have when it counts.

“But giving everything comes at a cost. And the people who have paid that cost more than anyone else are my family and my children.

“They sacrificed time with their dad so I could chase this dream. They had to share me with this sport their entire lives.

“So when people ask me what the future is for Conor Benn, right now the answer is simple. Time with my kids.”

Benn, the WBC’s number one contender, was outclassed by Garcia, who was making his first title defense.

Benn was taken to hospital after the collision, in what appeared to be a precautionary measure.

He turned professional with limited amateur experience, bypassed the traditional British, Commonwealth and European title route and built much of his reputation by fighting aging former champions.

Benn said he planned to make weight regardless of Saturday’s result.

The two defining nights of his career came at middleweight against Chris Eubank Jr, and a trilogy with Eubank remains a possible route back into the spotlight.