That’s only because Prograis recognizes the value, without risking too much money on the inconsistent Garcia, is to count on the fighter he considers a live underdog, despite that Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs, 1 NC) is more than a 3-1 favorite according to most sportsbooks. Objectively, however, Prograis expects Garcia to stop Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) in their high-profile fight at T-Mobile Arena.

Benn beat the retired Prograis by unanimous decision April 11 in London. The former WBA/WBC 140-pound champion can’t envision Benn overcoming a damaging weight cut, though, that required the 29-year-old challenger to squeeze down to 147 pounds for the first time in four years.

“I pick Ryan by stoppage,” Prograis told The Ring. “I think Ryan is a better fighter and if Ryan shows up like he did against Mario Barrios, I think he could stop him.”

Prograis doesn’t like what he has seen from the seemingly emaciated Englishman in photos and videos in recent weeks. The New Orleans native sensed a weakened Benn when they boxed at a catch weight of 150 pounds and anticipates the extra three pounds he must lose will further diminish him.

“You’ve gotta realize he fought Chris Eubank at 160 and now he’s sucking down more,” Prograis said. “You can’t keep doing that. Once you get to a certain age you can’t keep sucking down more. You weaken yourself more and more. If he fought Ryan at 150 again, I still think Ryan could beat him, but with him cutting three more pounds down I think Ryan could potentially stop him.”

Prograis fought at or just above the junior welterweight limit of 140 pounds for 11 years before he boxed Benn five months ago at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The younger, fresher fighter’s power appeared to affect a 37-year-old Prograis in the first round, yet the resilient veteran took Benn’s hardest punches and made it to the final bell in a fight he lost by the same score, 98-92, on all three cards.

“Conor’s strong,” Prograis said, “but I went up almost two divisions, fought somebody younger who was supposed to be stronger and be this killer, got in there and it wasn’t that. Me, personally, I feel I would’ve had more trouble with Ryan than somebody like Conor Benn.”

To beat a fighter of Garcia’s caliber, Prograis suggested that the comparatively inexperienced Benn needs to be less predictable than he was when they fought on the Tyson Fury-Arslanbek Makhmudov undercard.

“Don’t get me wrong, he hits hard,” Prograis said. “It just wasn’t surprising. The punches that hurt you are the ones you don’t see coming. I just saw a lotta stuff coming, but he does have power. And we fought in 10-ounce gloves. He does have power, but he didn’t conceal it.

“He needs to conceal his punches a little more. He had good body shots and good, strong right hands, but the right hand, I saw it. When you see it, you can brace for it and stuff like that. I did think he was gonna be way stronger. He was still strong, but it wasn’t like I thought.”

Paramount+ will stream the card headlined by Garcia-Benn in the United States, with the main card set to start at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT). It is available via DAZN in the United Kingdom and Ireland (1 a.m. BST).

Paramount+ and DAZN Ultimate subscribers can view the Garcia-Benn event for no additional charge. DAZN will also offer the show on pay-per-view to non-subscribers in the UK and Ireland (£24.99).

Whereas Benn labored at times against Prograis (30-4, 24 KOs), Garcia produced one of the most complete performances of his career in his last bout. The Victorville, California native dropped Barrios (29-3-2, 18 KOs) with a right hand less than 30 seconds into their fight and dominated the action in a 12-round encounter he won by wide distances on all three scorecards February 21 at T-Mobile Arena.

“Ryan is fast, young, strong and he can fight 12 rounds,” Prograis said.

“I don’t think it’s Conor Benn’s time to be a world champion. I think he was kinda rushed into this situation, just like Ryan said. And I feel like the same thing is true, especially with his weight coming down. He looks very skinny. Ryan did that with [Gervonta Davis], when he was real skinny, and we saw what happened to him [a seventh-round knockout]. When you lose that weight and you’re not at your natural weight, it’s very detrimental.”