Having boxed 10 rounds with Conor Benn and surviving the distance despite carrying four injuries into the ring, and competing in a higher weight class than he typically campaigned in, Regis Prograis has delivered an appraisal of his retirement opponent — and the message is brutal.
Benn is far from world-level.
With 34 pro fights behind him, and bouts against Terry Flanagan, Josh Taylor, and Jack Catterall, Prograis has numerous comparison points when it comes to Britain’s boxing talent.
Of the British fighters Prograis has boxed, he outpointed Flanagan in front of his hometown fans in New Orleans in 2018, lost to Taylor in a disputed result the following year, and lost by decision to Catterall 18 months ago, too.
“I think I see someone like Josh Taylor say [Conor Benn] is British level, and he is,” Prograis told iFL TV.
“I think he’s a British level fighter. He is not world level. Not yet.”
— Regis Prograis on Conor Benn
Nicknamed ‘The Destroyer’, Benn has competed across multiple weight classes but, after 25 bouts, has only scored wins over non world titleholders like Chris Eubank Jr. and Chris Algieri.
Of late, he is yet to be thrust into a transAtlantic challenge, preferring 147 pounds to 154, where killers such as Sebastian Fundora, Vergil Ortiz, and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis await. Even at welterweight, he still has considerable opposition such as Ryan Garcia.
But whether he will reach the world class standard to compete effectively against a fighter like Garcia remains, for Prograis at least, to be seen.
“Will he be that one day? Maybe he would,” he told iFL. “Maybe not. But he’s not just that world class level, yet.”
Benn has been linked with a summer showdown against Garcia.
Prograis, meanwhile, announced his retirement within hours of losing to Benn.
