Conor Benn has warned Ryan Garcia that the American will soon “find out” how hard he hits, after Regis Prograis made a stark claim about the Briton’s punching power.
On Saturday, Benn eased to a points victory over a faded Prograis, who retired after the 150lb catchweight bout on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s win against Arslanben Makhmudov.
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Prograis, 37, also admitted the extent of his pre-fight injury troubles, despite claiming in the lead-up that they were not as bad as had been rumoured.
Conor Benn after beating Regis Prograis on the Fury vs Makhmudov undercard (Getty)
However, the American did pay Benn a compliment, saying in an Instagram story after the fight: “One thing I will say about him, you can say what you all want, but Conor Benn’s got some f***ing power.
“Matter of fact, Conor Benn is the hardest puncher I have fought in my whole career, I’m just gonna put it out there like that.
“You all can say what you all want about Conor Benn, whatever, but Conor Benn’s got the most power. He can punch his ass off.
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“Last night we fought with 10oz gloves on, and Conor Benn can punch. So, we can talk about his skill and stuff like that, but man, you know, all it takes is one – and Conor Benn can punch.”
Benn, 29, shared that footage on X on Thursday and wrote the words, “You’ll find out soon enough @RyanGarcia,” along with a dynamite emoji.
In his Instagram story, Prograis had overlaid tweets from world champions Garcia, Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson, and retired champion Josh Taylor.
Garcia had tweeted, “CONNOR BUMM,” “I’m down GARCIA VS BENN Let’s do it!!!!!!” and, “Mark my words his corner or the ref stops my fight with Connor in the 6-7 round.”
Benn hurt Prograis badly on one occasion but could not find a finish (Getty)
Meanwhile, Taylor said, “Benn is absolutely rank rotten.” Shakur Stevenson wrote, “If he makes it 12 rounds with me I’ll be disappointed in myself,” and Haney said: “Conor Benn Stay away.”
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After Stevenson put on a clinic to beat Teofimo Lopez in a title-unification fight in January, Benn entered the ring to face off with the victorious American – one of a few US stars to whom Benn has been linked.
Haney and Garcia are the other main names, the latter of whom dropped and outpointed Mario Barrios in February to become WBC welterweight champion. Before that bout, Benn had also been linked to a potential contest with Barrios.
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