The former IBF 140-pound champion hopes Benn dethrones Garcia for his WBC welterweight title when they meet September 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Their bout, which will headline a Ring card, will stream on Paramount+ in the United States and DAZN in the UK and Ireland.

Hitchins added that he’s also paying close attention to Teofimo Lopez vs. Rolando “Rolly” Romero for Romero’s WBA welterweight title at T-Mobile Arena on August 22 on DAZN.

Hitchins’ logic is clear, as he and Benn are both promoted by Zuffa Boxing and managed by Keith Connolly. Theoretically, that should make a fight between him and Benn as easy as it gets to make a fight in boxing.

Lopez (22-2, 13 KOs) is also managed by Connolly.

“[Garcia versus Benn] interests me and Teofimo versus Rolly interests me,” Hitchins told The Ring.

“I feel like those are both fights that’s likely to happen. If Ryan Garcia ended up winning the fight, obviously, he's gonna do what he does with the WBC belt, but I'm praying that Conor Benn wins the fight because he's with Zuffa and we have the same manager, so it will make sense.”

Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs, 1 NC) outpointed Mario Barrios to win the WBC welterweight title on February 21 at T-Mobile. The Californian dropped Barrios (29-3-2, 18 KOs) in the opening minute of their bout before coasting to the final bell.

Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) will be fighting at welterweight for the first time since his second-round stoppage of Chris Van Heerden in April 2022. The 29-year-old from Essex last fought at a catchweight of 150 pounds when he won a unanimous decision over two-time 140-pound titleholder Regis Prograis in a 10-round fight on April 11.

Garcia, The Ring’s No. 5-ranked welterweight, and Benn exchanged words at a fiery press conference and had to be kept apart by security on multiple occasions at Fanatics Fest in New York on Saturday.

“It's a great fight for the sport of boxing,” Hitchins said. “Honestly, I really don't know who will win that fight.”

Any hopes of eventually jumping into the title picture at welterweight will depend on Hitchins’ performance on Sunday. Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) will make his welterweight debut against Ricardo Salas in a 10-round bout, the co-main event of Zuffa 09 at Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The card is headlined by a 10-round super middleweight bout between Edgar Berlanga and Steven Butler.

Hitchins, 28, will be fighting for the first time since his eighth-round stoppage of George Kambosos Jr. in June 2025. The New Yorker was scheduled to defend his IBF 140-pound title against Oscar Duarte on February 21, but withdrew after falling ill on the day of the fight.

Hitchins later vacated the title and moved up to 147 pounds.