Regis Prograis has offered his thoughts on a potential welterweight clash between Devin Haney and Conor Benn, shortly after facing the latter at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The pair squared off at a catchweight of 150lbs on Saturday evening, featuring on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov.
Despite being a two-time world champion, many viewed this as a tall order for Prograis, who fought out of his usual weight class of 140lbs and subsequently announced his retirement.
Benn, on the other hand, was coming off a middleweight triumph over Chris Eubank Jr, representing the naturally bigger and fresher fighter following his points victory in November.
Unsurprisingly, this told the story of their one-sided contest as Benn claimed a wide unanimous decision, showcasing his dominance over 10 rounds.
Another man to defeat Prograis by a considerable margin is current WBO welterweight champion Haney, who whitewashed the American through 12 rounds in 2023.
Back then, Prograis was the defending WBC super-lightweight champion, competing at his more natural weight while still representing a serviceable customer at world level.
The fact that Haney outpointed him so handily was therefore an impressive feat, more so than what Benn was able to accomplish against the 37-year-old.
Recalling this particular moment in his successful career, Prograis effectively told FightHype that Haney boasts a far superior skillset to Benn, who must refine his tools to have any chance at toppling the WBO king.
“I don’t think Conor should fight at 154[lbs]; I think he should try to stay at 147[lbs].
“I think he’s a good fighter, but he does have to polish a lot of skills. I fought him and I fought Devin. For [Benn] to figure out Devin, it would be hard.
“Devin is bigger; Devin is taller. He has fast feet; he’s quick. So Devin [would] be hard to deal with.”
While Benn has expressed an interest in fighting Haney, it remains to be seen whether he can still make 147lbs after not fighting at the weight since 2022.
