In fact, if it weren’t for his upcoming opponent’s last name, Prograis figures Benn wouldn’t command much attention in the boxing world. The longtime junior welterweight will face a weight disadvantage against Benn on April 11, yet Prograis is confident that his skills will set him apart from the heavily favored British star when they square off at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

“I talked to my coaches and all my team – they believe in me,” Prograis told The Ring. “And I believe in myself. I just feel like I’m better. Like weight-wise, no matter what it is, if he’s small, if he’s big, if he’s the same size as me, I feel like skill-wise I am better. I feel like Conor Benn has a name because of his dad, that’s it.

“But if his last name wasn’t Benn, he would be a nobody. And for me, I never had no type of people in my family that boxed before, and I still made it to the top twice. So, I just feel like I’m better, that’s all. I feel like I’m a better fighter and that’s it.”

Benn, 29, and Prograis, 37, will fight at a contracted catch weight of 150 pounds.

New Orleans’ Prograis (30-3, 24 KOs), a former two-time 140-pound champ, weighed in at 142 pounds for his last fight – a 10-round, unanimous-decision defeat of Joseph Diaz Jr. (34-8-1, 15 KOs) on August 2 in Chicago. Benn (24-1, 14 KOs) officially weighed 159¼ pounds for his most recent action, a unanimous points victory over rival Chris Eubank Jr. on November 15 in London.

Zuffa Boxing signed Benn to a one-fight contract that will reportedly pay him $15 million to face Prograis in the co-feature of a Ring card that will match former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury against Arslanbek Makhmudov in the 12-round main event. Netflix will stream the Fury-Makhmudov and Benn-Prograis fights globally.

Benn’s eight-figure addition to the roster of Zuffa Boxing, in which Ring owner Turki Alalshikh is an investor, is considered a significant signing for the upstart promotional company because Benn is one of boxing’s biggest stars in the United Kingdom.

The Ilford, England native and Eubank helped sell out Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for their two middleweight matches in 2025. Beating Eubank (35-4, 25 KOs) in their rematch enabled Benn to avenge his unanimous points loss in their first fight April 26.

Prograis contends that the success of those two Ring events had more to do with the star statuses of their famous fathers – Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr. – than their sons’ abilities.

“I definitely feel like he’s been overhyped,” Prograis said regarding Benn, who opened as a 13-1 favorite. “Even with the Chris Eubank fight, and I don’t wanna disrespect Chris Eubank, but I don’t think Chris Eubank ever been a champion before, either. And [Benn] lost to a guy like that. Obviously, [Eubank] was bigger and stuff like that, but man, I feel like I’m a world-class fighter and it’s levels, and Imma show it. I know Imma show there’s levels to it.”