‘The Ring’ CEO Reeno Got Both Sides of Garcia vs Benn Before Fight Was Official

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Rick Reeno didn’t need Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn in the same room to get their fight moving on camera.

Before UFC boss Dana White made their Sept. 12 showdown official in Las Vegas, both fighters had already been asked about each other on Reeno’s Mr. Verzace Podcast.

First came Benn, 29, who was breaking down Garcia’s then-upcoming fight with Mario Barrios when Reeno asked for his read. “I think Ryan Garcia is great for boxing. I think he's a liability,” the British contender said. “I think he's a loose cannon. I think he’s unpredictable. Could say unprofessional. But ultimately he's sheer entertainment.”

Garcia had his own answer when Reeno later asked about Benn calling him out. “I think he fits perfect for my set of skills,” the 27-year-old champ explained. “Falls right into my pocket.” He added that his rival is "a bigger dude," but said he didn't see his boxing skills as "up to par" with his own.

The fight now lands at T-Mobile Arena with Garcia’s WBC welterweight title on the line. Paramount+ will carry the card globally, while DAZN airs it in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is Garcia’s first defense since beating Barrios for the belt in February. For Benn, it’s his first shot at a world title and a chance to win the same green WBC belt his father, Nigel Benn, once held in another division.

As for Reeno, the fight is another card with The Ring's name on it. Since joining the publication as COO in late 2024 and becoming CEO in July 2025, he has become one of the outlet’s most visible faces at boxing events, press conferences and fight-week functions.

That has meant more than standing off to the side.

In June 2025, Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford opened the global press tour for their September superfight with a news conference in Riyadh. Reeno walked onstage carrying a one-off Ring championship belt made for the winner. He called it an “exclusive mega-belt” for “a mega-fight of this magnitude” and put its price at £140,000 — or roughly $188,000. Eight months later, he was at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium speaking to reporters as The Ring promoted Tyson Fury’s comeback against Arslanbek Makhmudov.

Fight week accounts for only part of his camera time. On Mr. Verzace, Reeno has sat down with names across the sport, from Alvarez and Anthony Joshua to Eddie Hearn and Rolly Romero. The podcast is part of a much larger surge on The Ring’s YouTube channel. According to Sports Business Journal The site increased in audience from about 7,000 subscribers in January 2025 to 268,000 by the middle of March. By late June 2026, vidIQ counted 1.24 million subscribers and more than 336 million views.

Reeno’s track record in online boxing goes back to 2003, when he founded BoxingScene and built it into one of the sport’s main digital news destinations. CBS Sports Digital acquired the site in 2018, placing his independent operation in the same portfolio as CBSSports.com, 247Sports and SportsLine. After CBS merged with Viacom, BoxingScene became part of the company later renamed Paramount, with Reeno remaining managing editor until 2024.

Turki Alalshikh bought The Ring from Golden Boy Promotions that same year. Since then, the 104-year-old publication has returned to print and added live events, video, podcasts, fantasy contests and a free digital archive.

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