Carl Froch has given another honest assessment of Conor Benn’s performance against Regis Prograis, considering his chances in a potential clash with Ryan Garcia.
‘The Destroyer’ claimed a wide points victory over Prograis earlier this month, featuring on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov.
But despite defeating the veteran at 150lbs, Benn has received no small amount of criticism for the manner in which he went about his business.
Given that Prograis announced his retirement soon after, and confirmed pre-fight injury rumours, many expected Benn to at least get his man out of there.
As it happened, though, the two-time world champion at no point seemed in any real danger, other than perhaps the opening round when his legs buckled from a right hand.
Yet despite hardly setting the world alight over 10 rounds, Benn is now likely to secure a world title shot against WBC champion Garcia.
The 27-year-old claimed his welterweight belt in February, scoring a unanimous decision victory over Mario Barrios after flooring his man in the opening round.
As the WBC’s No.1 contender, Benn is widely expected to enter a summer showdown with Garcia, who has already teased a possible date in August.
Froch, however, has said on his YouTube channel, Froch On Fighting, that he doubts whether the 29-year-old would make it past round three against Garcia.
“I’ll tell you what: that performance against Regis Prograis was f**king awful.
“I’m not being horrible, but this is a guy that’s now talking and shouting about Ryan Garcia.
“On that performance, Ryan Garcia absolutely splatters him within three rounds, as far as I’m concerned.
“Conor Benn was struggling to get his distance, his range [against Prograis] – he was leaping in with his chin in the air; he was walking into shots.
“He’s got no punching power. What’s happened to him? Why doesn’t he punch [hard] anymore? Why is he not ferocious?
“He needs to tidy up his fighting style, his defence. He needs to get behind the jab; he needs to become more of a boxer and a mover.”
Benn has not scored any stoppages since 2022, when his second-round finish over Chris van Heerden was followed by two positive tests for banned substance clomifine, albeit several months later.
