Eddie Hearn has offered his immediate reaction to Conor Benn’s dominant victory over Regis Prograis, shortly after they collided at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The pair featured on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov yesterday evening, delivering a rather uneventful affair at a catchweight of 150lbs.
This saw Prograis jump up from his more familiar surroundings at 140lbs, while Benn was moving down from middleweight following his points win over Chris Eubank Jr.
Unlike his performance in November, though, ‘The Destroyer’ was unable to score any knockdowns as he nonetheless claimed a wide unanimous decision victory.
This represents his first outing since leaving Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, which came as a surprise when he also announced the signing of a one-fight deal with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing.
As a result of completing his contractual obligation, Benn now has the option to shop around for a new promoter, or perhaps extend his working relationship with White.
Either way, he is expected to secure a bigger test than Prograis, who, despite being a gifted two-time world champion, was injured in camp and, at 37, announced his retirement shortly after the defeat.
Speaking with Seconds Out, Hearn referenced this rumour while, at the same time, suggesting that Benn is a more spiteful operator at 160lbs, or even 154.
“Regis Prograis obviously shouldn’t have been in there – he could hardly stand up – so I think Conor will be disappointed not to get him out of there.
“To be honest with you, I think Conor’s better off up the weights. I don’t think he looked like he had any power [against Prograis].
“He trains very hard, and I don’t know whether it was the weight or what it was, but he didn’t look to have any zip behind his punches.”
Regardless of his feelings towards Benn following the unexpected departure from Matchroom, many would agree with Hearn’s comments on the 29-year-old’s performance against Prograis. On the broadcast, Hall of Famer Andre Ward said Benn would need to find more to compete with the champions at welterweight.