Benn's $15M fight? Against Prograis on Netflix on Tyson Fury show
British star will be the highest-paid undercard fighter in history
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Conor Benn’s exit from career-long promoter Matchroom Boxing as a free agent to sign a one-fight, $15 million deal with Zuffa Boxing on Friday shocked the boxing world. Now, the particulars of the bout are locked in.
Benn will fight former two-time junior welterweight titlist Regis Prograis on Netflix in the co-feature of the return of former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury from retirement to face Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
The fight is a scheduled 10-rounder at a contract weight of 150 pounds, a source with knowledge of those particulars told Fight Freaks Unite. They were not part of the announcement made by Zuffa Boxing backer and Ring magazine owner Turki Alalshikh on Thursday.
Benn is working his way back to the 147-pound welterweight division after having moved up to middleweight for his two fights against bitter rival Chris Eubank Jr. in 2024, both of those bouts also taking place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Benn (24-1, 14 KOs), 29, British boxing’s biggest star other than Fury and Anthony Joshua, lost a decision to Eubank in their epic fight of the year in April followed by a one-sided decision win in which he dropped Eubank twice in the 12th round in the November rematch.
“April 11th can’t come soon enough,” said Benn, the son of former two-division titleholder and British legend Nigel Benn, who will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in June. “Returning to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium again, where I made history against Eubank Jr., means everything to me. My last fight there showed the world exactly who I am and what I’m about. Fighting on the biggest stages, in the biggest shows, I fear no one. I’m fully locked in and ready to deliver another statement performance.”
With the size of his purse Benn will be the highest-paid undercard fighter in boxing history courtesy of the deal negotiated by manager Keith Connolly, the two-time and reigning manager of the year.
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On a quarterly earnings call on Wednesday, Mark Shapiro, the president and COO of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of Zuffa Boxing as well as UFC and WWE, addressed the Benn contract, which Fight Freaks Unite reported the details of though they had not been publicly disclosed. He said TKO is not responsible for the outlay.
“First off, this story has taken on a life of its own, and that’s largely because (Matchroom Boxing’s) Eddie Hearn is stirring the pot in a very fictional way. So, as you know, our partner in Zuffa Boxing is Sela. They’re the financial backer entity,” Shapiro said, referring to the Saudi Arabian government-funded entertainment company that is deeply involved in its massive boxing expenditures over the past two years. “Beyond the year-long series of fight cards that will appear exclusively on Paramount+, we’ve described again and again on these calls and conferences that we also plan to stage approximately two to four super fights per year — Canelo (Alvarez) versus (Terence) Crawford (this past September) being an example — some of which TKO will promote and/or sell the media rights for, of course, incremental fees.
“We at TKO with Sela collectively identified Conor Benn as someone we wanted to have for one of those super fights in 2026. That’s it. One fight in 2026. Conor was a free agent. Dana White and Nick Khan, in that order, went out and signed Conor. Now, let me be clear: we signed him for just one fight. That’s all we’re talking about here.
“Now, of course, we hope eventually he’ll fight in our Zuffa Boxing series exclusively on Paramount+, but for now, this is just one fight. No different than what we did with Canelo and Crawford. No different than other super fights we’re currently planning with Sela.
“I would add, the reported purse, which I believe was around $15 million, I’m not confirming or denying that Conor will be paid (that figure) for this super fight in 2026. (It) is not TKO going out of pocket. Sela, led by our great partner Turki Alalshikh, is covering the purse. Once again, no different than exactly what he did with the Canelo-Crawford fight.”
Prograis (30-3, 24 KOs), 37, a southpaw from New Orleans, has been a career-long junior welterweight and will be moving up in weight in the twilight of his career.
He is coming off a tight unanimous decision over the long-faded former junior lightweight titlist Joseph Diaz Jr. in an extremely grueling fight in August in Chicago.
Prior to defeating Diaz, Prograis had lost back-to-back decisions, a shutout in which he got knocked down and lost the WBC 140-pound title to Devin Haney in December 2023 followed by a clear decision loss to Jack Catterall in October 2024.
The fight will mark Prograis’ third in England. The Catterall bout was in Manchester and he also lost the WBA title to IBF titlist Josh Taylor by majority decision in a rousing battle at The O2 in London in their 2019 unification fight.
Benn, a 15-0 prospect at the time, stopped Steve Jamoye in the fourth round on the Taylor-Prograis undercard.
“Last time I fought in London, Conor Benn was on my undercard, so this is a full-circle moment for me,” Prograis said. “But this circle will close with me teaching him a lesson on April 11th. He’s not fighting some weight-drained super middleweight (Eubank). I am in shape and will bring home this victory.”
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Benn photo: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing
After the Haney Prograis fight, I was left asking one question: Would Philbin have been more successful ? :-D
Only $15million??? Such a deal!
Conor Benn is one of the luckiest humans on this planet for the grace and cash that people have thrown at him despite having done little to deserve either.
Prograis is so washed he’s 147 pounds of sand at this point. This undercard compliments the main event perfectly.