Regis Prograis has denied that he is injured going into his fight with Conor Benn on Saturday, in response to rumours circulating over the last fortnight.
Prograis is set to face Benn on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s comeback fight with Arslanbek Makhmudov, as the pair meet at a 150lb catchweight.
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The contest sees American Prograis, a former super-lightweight champion, stray out of his preferred division for the first time. Meanwhile, Benn is moving back towards his usual welterweight frame after trading wins with Chris Eubank Jr at middleweight in 2025.
Regis Prograis just days before fighting Conor Benn (Getty)
The fight will also be Benn’s first since the Briton’s shock split from promoter Eddie Hearn, but the latest piece of drama to surround this bout has concerned Prograis’s health.
“I feel like it’s some type of plot going on, like they want to put somebody else in my place,” Prograis told Boxing News. “Because like, as soon as I got here, they were already saying: ‘Yeah, we’ve got somebody. Let me know, we can have somebody.’
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“I mean, I’m here. I’m proving that I’m willing to fight. I came over here, I don’t have to be here right now if I don’t want to. I came, so why are people trying to put somebody else in my place already?
“And they might still have somebody waiting [as] a replacement. I mean, I don’t know what’s going on with that.
“Maybe, like I said, [there’s] some type of plot, some type of conspiracy going on. But look, bro: I’m good, I can fight.”
Prograis, 37, will enter Saturday’s fight on the back of a points win over Joseph Diaz in August. Prior to that contest, he suffered back-to-back points losses to Devin Haney and Jack Catterall.
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Meanwhile, Benn was beaten for the first time last April, when he was outpointed by bitter rival Eubank Jr. However, the 29-year-old avenged that result in November, dropping Eubank Jr en route to his own decision win.
Conor Benn (left) floored Chris Eubank Jr in November, en route to a decision win (Getty Images)
Benn then shockingly split from Hearn and Matchroom in February, signing with rival promotion Zuffa Boxing. Benn joined Zuffa on a one-fight deal, yet Saturday’s bout is not being promoted by Zuffa, nor is it streaming on the promotion’s broadcast channel, Paramount+. Instead, Saturday’s event will be promoted by The Ring magazine, and it will stream live on Netflix.
Still, Prograis defended Benn over his move, telling The Independent in March: “I tell every fighter, ‘Make your money,’ because listen: when Conor is retired, Eddie is still gonna be promoting people, he’s still gonna be making money.
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“If you’re the one literally putting your life on the line, why wouldn’t you make as much money as you can? To be honest, every fighter in the world is underpaid, because you’re putting your life on the line for the sport and the fans.
“Eddie is not putting his life on the line, Eddie never had to put his life on the line. And I’m cool with Eddie, but at the same time, get your money. Your life is priceless, you can’t put a price on your health.
“You can still be loyal to Eddie, you can still be cool with him, you can still go to lunch with him. S***, you can even go spend some of that money on Eddie. I don’t know what kind of vacations y’all go to, y’all are on a different side of the world, but take him to Spain or something.”
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