Benn (24-1, 14 KOs) vs. former two-time junior welterweight champion Regis Prograis (30-3, 24 KOs) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the Tyson Fury vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov card, streamed live on Netflix. The fight falls under a reported $15 million single fight deal related to Zuffa’s expansion into boxing.
Speaking to Boxing King Media, Hearn focused on the weight and the matchups.
“150? It’s good for Conor to try to bring himself down from 160,” Hearn said of the agreed catchweight.
He then assessed Prograis’ current state.
“I like Regis. You saw in the Jojo Diaz fight he’s not the fighter he once was. He’s still a decent fighter but Conor should be way too fresh.
“It was never a fight we looked at because I was trying to get him a world championship fight. But, as a backwater fight, if you will… It’s going to be weird to see him on an undercard, but I don’t think he’ll be that bothered when he gets paid.”
Hearn also raised the subject of the reported purse.
“Let’s just see what the UFC fighters have to say. It’s an interesting one. It’s a problem for them.”
Shalom reacted sharply to Hearn’s public stance.
“I just couldn’t believe the reaction, I thought it was a parody, I thought Eddie Hearn was playing up, fake outrage,” Shalom told Boxing King Media.
“I found it pathetic in the circumstances, it is what they are, it is what they do.
“They’re all bags.”
Shalom compared the situation to Ben Whittaker’s departure from BOXXER.
“It hurt me,” he said. “I put everything into him, so I know why it hurts.
“Did I get a thank you? No. Did I get a call? No. So it hurt me.
“I’m not saying what Conor Benn did was right, I just found the reaction comical.”
Inside the ropes, Benn faces a seasoned southpaw who built his title run at 140 pounds with heavy left hands and sustained pressure.
April 11 now holds parallel competitions. Benn vs. Prograis and Fury vs. Makhmudov in the ring. Promoters over microphones out there.
