Following his unanimous decision defeat to Conor Benn last Saturday, Regis Prograis has considered how a clash between ‘The Destroyer’ and Ryan Garcia might unfold.
The two-time world champion faced Benn on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov, announcing his retirement shortly after losing their contest at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Fighting at a catchweight of 150lbs, this was Benn’s first outing since his middleweight rematch with Chris Eubank Jr, which saw him claim a dominant points victory in November.
As the WBC’s No.1-ranked welterweight contender, though, the 29-year-old now looks like he could be about to earn a shot at Garcia’s green and gold strap.
The American secured his world title at 147lbs in February, dethroning Mario Barrios with a unanimous decision victory after scoring a first-round knockdown.
In doing so, Garcia claimed his first win since stopping Oscar Duarte in 2023, which was followed by his controversial clash with Devin Haney in 2024.
Despite managing to edge a majority decision on the night, ‘King Ry’ was ultimately handed a year-long ban – and had his career-best triumph overturned to a no-contest – after it emerged that he had twice tested positive for banned substance ostarine.
Similarly, Benn twice tested positive for clomifene in 2022, a few months after his last welterweight outing saw him stop Chris van Heerden in the second round.
With Benn now looking to return to 147lbs and face Garcia, though, Prograis has offered his take in an interview with Fight Hub TV.
“Ryan is fast. Ryan might catch him, but I think that Conor could catch Ryan [as well].
“Conor does have some power, and Conor reminds me of me when I was younger. I was just a dog – I came to fight and I was unpolished.
“That’s what Conor is. He’s strong; he’s going to come to fight; he has a chin; he’s durable.
“With Ryan, it would be interesting. It depends [on] who catches who first.”
Indeed, both Benn and Garcia appear to carry plenty of power, but have not engineered any stoppages since 2022 and 2023, respectively.
