Conor Benn scored a decision win over a wounded Regis Prograis on Saturday night and super-middleweight legend Carl Froch has shared his thoughts on the performance.
At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Benn fought below 154lbs for the first time since his failed drugs test controversy back in 2022, fighting at a 150lb catchweight as part of his journey back down to welterweight, where he has vowed to become world champion.
He was tasked with two-time super-lightweight ruler Prograis in the co-main event of Tyson Fury’s comeback. Rumours that Prograis – who retired post-fight – was injured during training camp led to an expectation that Benn would claim a first knockout win since his welterweight days, and become the only man to stop the American.
Yet, despite stunning his opponent in the opening round, WBC mandatory challenger Benn went the distance with the 37-year-old, winning 98-92 on all three of the judges’ scorecards to tee up a showdown with reigning champion, Ryan Garcia.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Froch weighed in on the fight, saying that he still believes Benn is untested at the top level and questioned his power having dropped back down in weight.
“I’m not here to give stick out to Conor Benn. For me, he is quite an exciting prospect. And I say prospect with an asterisk because he’s been a pro nearly ten years and in some big fights.
“He couldn’t get the job done. He didn’t look like he was punching hard, Prograis was hurt in round one and Conor Benn couldn’t get rid of him, went 10 rounds and his head looked like it had been hit with a baseball bat.
“I think that their heads came together a lot, he got a cut above his right eye and his head was all swelled up and bruised.”
“I don’t think that he will be happy with that performance and I’m just being honest, but all the best to Conor Benn.
“He did what he needed to do, 10 rounds against a two-time former champion and he now needs to look onwards and upwards and look forward to that fight with Ryan Garcia because that is a big fight.”
Benn will continue to demand a clash with Garcia in the weeks to come, but the WBC champion also remains linked to fights against Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney.