Conor Benn rejected multiple requests made by Regis Prograis before $15m fight was signed

Regis Prograis had a tough time trying to negotiate his fight with Conor Benn.

The pair are set to act as chief support for Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11 in a 150lbs catchweight fight.

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Two-time world super lightweight champion Regis Prograis has never boxed above 140lbs and so made multiple requests for the weight to be lowered in order to level the playing field against his larger foe.

Benn’s last two outings took place at middleweight (160lbs) as he bounced back from a gruelling defeat to Chris Eubank Jr in April to exact his revenge in November.

For both contests, Benn benefited from a 10lbs rehydration clause, which meant Eubank Jr couldn’t weigh above 170lbs on the morning of the fight.

Prograis was not afforded the same terms.

“I found out about the fight a few days ago; it came out of the blue,” Progrias told Gareth A. Davies and Johnny Nelson on talkSPORT Fight Night.

“I got a call from somebody, and they said Conor Benn could be on the table for me to fight him.

“So I said, ‘Alright, cool’. At first, I was like ‘Okay, I know Conor Benn is a little bigger than me’.

“Of course, I’ve been at 140lbs my whole career, I won belts twice at 140lbs, so my goal was to go up to 147lbs.

“I wanted to do it the right way at first by going to 145lbs and then going to 147lbs, but they offered this fight at 150lbs.

“When they did say that, I said, ‘Can we make this fight at 147lbs?’ And they said no.

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“I said, ‘What about 149lbs?’ And they said no.

“So I said ‘What about the weight stipulation?’ I know he had a [rehydration clause] with Chris Eubank Jr in his last fight.

“And they said no. At first, I said ‘Maybe not’. But the next day, I told my manager Brian Peters, ‘Let’s get the fight’.

“Of course, because of the weight, we got a few more dollars.

“But I do feel like I am better than Conor Benn, I feel like I can beat him, so they made the fight happen quickly.”

Prograis, 37, rebounded from defeats to Devin Haney and Jack Catterall in 2023 and 2024, respectively, to get back on the winning track last year with a unanimous decision victory over Jojo Diaz.

The American is expected to pocket a career-best payday for the fight, with Benn reportedly earning $15m as part of his one-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing.