LONDON – Conor Benn has made a successful start to his life under Zuffa Boxing by claiming a relatively routine unanimous-decision victory over Regis Prograis tonight on the undercard for Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov.
All three judges scored the contest 98-92 in the catchweight bout at 150 pounds from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The former Matchroom fighter caused a stir by switching promotional camps to Eddie Hearn’s displeasure. However, there were no jeers or cheers as Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) made his way to the ring in what was quite a drawn-out ring walk. Benn’s former promoter Eddie Hearn had suggested that a London crowd would boo the English welter/super welterweight as he walked out to the ring, but outside of the circles of the boxing world nobody seemed to really care who Benn was or wasn’t promoted by. He was given a good ovation as Michael Buffer announced him in the ring. He was also given a warm reception when his hand was raised as the winner.
There wasn’t too much action to write home about in the opening two rounds, other than an attack from Benn in the forest minute of the fight. Benn caught Prograis with a right hook to the side of the head, where the American appeared in a little trouble. However, it looked more like he lost his footing, although it was a good shot from the Englishman.
Round three offered little excitement; Benn landing a decent double-jab following a well-connected right hand to the middle of Prograis’ face was the pick of the action.
The fourth didn’t see the fight pick up either. Benn worked the body more and was the more willing of the pair to have a fight. In round five there was a little more spirit from Prograis as he pushed forward to again work the body, but he wasn’t doing anywhere near enough to pick up any rounds in my opinion. However, David Haye, who was working for Netflix, had scored rounds four and five in favor of Prograis.
Round six saw a little more action from Prograis, landing a good left-hook to the side of the head, although Benn was still the more active and was finding a home with shots to the stomach. Benn went through the gears in the seventh, taking charge of much of the session. Other than Prograis landing a well-timed jab, Benn overrode him with more good body shots, especially a good uppercut to mid-section.
Benn walked straight onto a right hand in round eight, but again, he was far too quiet in-between any action, making it hard to score rounds for him. The pace slowed a little in round none, as the fight became a tad sluggish. Benn appeared as the fresher and fitter of the two.
David Haye scored 88-83 to Benn ahead of the tenth and final round. If anything, I had scorecards more widely in Benn’s favor. The final three minutes of the catchweight contest didn’t produce too much action, but Benn was again the more eager of the pair.
