Regis Prograis soon travels to London to clash with Conor Benn at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, boosted by advice from the great Terence Crawford.
Benn left Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing to sign a one-fight deal with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing with a reported $15 million price tag. The opponent will be two-time super-lightweight world champion Prograis, who, at 37 years old, has agreed to a catchweight of 150lbs.
It will be the heaviest Prograis has weighed in his 33-fight campaign, and a test made tougher still by the fact that Benn is moving down from 160lbs following a defeat and a win against Chris Eubank Jr.
Naturally, Prograis has looked to some recent examples of fighters having success in moving up by considerable margins, and none is more impressive than Terence Crawford’s triumph over Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez last year.
Pound-for-pound star ‘Bud’ fought just once at 154lbs before moving to 168 and becoming the first man to defeat Canelo at that weight. He kept his agility and added strength to emerge a clear points winner.
Speaking to Mail Sport Boxing, Prograis – who was knocked down once by Devin Haney in 2023 and twice by Jack Catterall in 2024 – said a chat with Crawford gave him confidence that his punch resistance against Benn will improve with the added weight.
“Terence Crawford went up two divisions and he still took shots from Canelo. He said ‘the only time I’ve been hurt was by [Yuriorkis] Gamboa and that was when I was at 135, I was too small. I’ve been in the gym, sparring these big guys and the punches don’t do nothing. So, really the extra weight is a benefit.
“I think the same thing. I’m in the gym sparring with these guys and it’s nothing when I’m at my natural weight, but when I had to drop down to 140, I’ve been dropped and stuff like that I think because I stayed at 140 way too long … I’m naturally bigger than that, but my goal was to be a three-time 140 champion. I see why it’s never been done. When you’re a grown man, you shouldn’t be sucking your weight down. It hurts your body and makes you weaker.”
Prograis – who says he is undeniably the better boxer – has warned Benn not to be surprised if he is stronger than him come fight night, clearly confident that a lack of a weight cut will be a benefit rather than a hindrance.
As for Benn, fans will have a keen eye on how he himself makes the 150lbs, particularly given his ultimate goal of getting back to 147 to win a welterweight world title in the near future.
