Shakur Stevenson was an interested observer Saturday when Conor Benn jumped down in weight to make his Zuffa Boxing debut against Regis Prograis in London.
The four-division champion and Benn infamously faced off after Stevenson’s historic win over Teofimo Lopez in January at Madison Square Garden. The rivalry between the pair began on a joint appearance on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” this past year, where both expressed interest in a potential fight.
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“Everything that I said on the show came to fruition,” WBO super lightweight champion Stevenson said of Benn’s performance on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I mean, I’ve been telling y’all I’m better than him. I’ve been telling y’all he’s not on my level. I’ve been telling y’all that his skills are not up to par with mine.
“So like I said, if he’s ready to fight, tell him to stop going on social media, making up lies saying that I said, ‘Oh, I won’t fight at the weight class.’ I said I will with a rehydration clause, because he [had a rehydration clause for Chris] Eubank. That’s the only reason why I really said it, is for that reason. But like I said, he’s not on my level. [I’ve been saying] this, and I will beat the holy s*** out of Conor Benn.”
Sources have confirmed with Uncrowned that Prograis went into the fight with Benn with an injury. In fact, Prograis was so badly injured that a replacement opponent, Tarik Zaina, was on standby to step in if Prograis decided to withdraw at the 11th hour, which he said he was close to doing.
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“I was kind of surprised [that Benn couldn’t stop an injured Prograis],” Stevenson said, “because Conor talks about how exciting he is and how much of a big puncher he is. But when I was watching the fight, I was very bored. So maybe he’s got to put some more excitement together, how he [says].”
Benn’s performance fell far short of what you’d expect to get for his reported purse of $15 million. Prograis took two rounds on all of the judges’ scorecards and made Benn look unimpressive at times. It was the Briton’s volume and consistency with his jab that was ultimately the difference between the pair.
In Prograis’ previous fight with Joseph Diaz Jr., he was wobbled on multiple occasions in the late rounds by a fighter whose best days were at 130 and 135 pounds. With the 37-year-old Prograis moving up to 150 pounds for this past Saturday’s fight, the expectation was that Benn would score a finish for the first time in four years, but the explosive power that made him a star in Britain prior to his two failed drug tests for the banned substance clomiphene was nowhere to be seen.
“He hasn’t put nobody out since [the failed drug tests],” Stevenson said. “So, once again, it must be something with that — I try to stay away from that kind of stuff [because] it’s a very touchy subject because, you know, guys will sue you for saying certain things. So, with that being said, I don’t think he’s the same fighter, but he definitely can’t mess with me either way.”
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Stevenson believes that Benn, who is now allegedly a promotional free agent, will return to the ring in September, and he would like to see the British star test himself against Uncrowned’s No. 3 pound-for-pound boxer.
“I’m hearing that he’s fighting in September,” Stevenson said. “So, if he fights in September, I’m available to fight in September also.
“I think there’s a real possibility I stop him. I will be disappointed in myself if I don’t stop him.”
Benn called out WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia immediately after his win over Prograis on Saturday. The son of boxing royalty Nigel Benn, Conor has made no secret of his desire to follow in his legendary father’s footsteps and win the WBC world title that Garcia now owns.
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“He would rather [take] the Ryan Garcia fight because he has a chance in that fight, maybe in his brain,” Stevenson said of Benn. “So he thinks that he can possibly win that fight. With a fight with me, I know that he’s [thinking], ‘Yeah, I’m not on that level.’ So he probably won’t have a fight with me over a Ryan Garcia fight.”
Although Stevenson backs Garcia to defeat Benn, the four-division champion admitted Garcia’s unreliability and inconsistency would deter Stevenson from putting his money where his mouth is.
“Man, I don’t know [if the fight will be competitive],” Stevenson said. “It’s hard to say with Ryan, because Ryan is so wishy-washy. When I bet my money on Ryan, he’ll come in there and do some whole other nonsense. So it’s hard to say. It may be competitive. It may be Ryan by a wash. Ryan is just a weird kind of guy when it comes to this, especially if you bet money on Ryan. It’s like you don’t know who to really bet on.”
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