Ryan Garcia has labelled Terence Crawford a “hater” after being told that the all-time great is favouring Conor Benn to pull off a sizable upset.

The 28-year-old will make a first defence of his WBC title against Benn on September 12, headlining an event at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

To his credit, it was arguably a career-best performance that saw Garcia dethrone Mario Barrios, dominating their February encounter with a unanimous decision victory.

At the very least, it was a vastly improved display than the one he produced against Rolando Romero, who convincingly outpointed ‘King Ry’ in May 2025.

This result followed his year-long doping ban, however, which can perhaps partly explain why Garcia underperformed so spectacularly against his low-volume opponent.

As for his upcoming clash with Benn, most would argue that the American is superior from both a skill and experience perspective, while ‘The Destroyer’ possibly boasts an edge when it comes to heart and durability.

These qualities were evident during his first encounter with Chris Eubank Jr, which he lost by unanimous decision in 2025 before winning their rematch later that year.

It is perhaps based on those two performances, then, that Crawford has decided to back heavy underdog Benn, who has not fought at 147lbs since 2022 and notoriously tested positive for banned substance clomifene that same year.

Speaking with FightHype, though, Garcia could not accept that ‘Bud’ is being fully genuine with his prediction.

“[Crawford] is really a hater – he needs to get out of retirement already. I think I can beat Crawford – I don’t give a f**k about no Conor Benn.”

Crawford called time on his illustrious career in December, just a few months removed from dethroning Canelo Alvarez and becoming a three-division undisputed champion.