However, it appears the former two-time world champion has already made a U-turn.

“I’ll come back in a few years,” Prograis told The Ring. “When I’m like 40 years old I’ll come back. It just won’t be at 140 pounds, but I’ll come back.”

The speed, power, and reflexes that made Prograis (30-4, 24 KOs) a world champion have not been on display for a couple of years now. But even a diminished version of the ex-junior welterweight titlist was enough to give Benn issues during a 150-pound catchweight bout.

Benn won the bout via unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the bout 98-92. The Ilford man, currently the WBC's No. 1 contender at 147 pounds, will now hope to go on and fight for a world titles.

Prograis, however, believes Benn needs to improve, especially if he's to fight Ryan Garcia.

“I think Conor Benn can become a world champion because anything can happen in boxing,” Prograis said. “Someone can vacate the belts and get elevated, just anything can happen but as for him as a fighter, he has some things to work on. He’s like a six out of 10. He’s not that good. He’s just not polished enough. He’s strong, not gonna lie. His power is like an 8.5. So he does have a lot of power but he’s not really polished right now.

“He has to work on his speed and set up shots. A lot of his punches I saw coming so I was able to brace for them. But he definitely has a few things to work on. Right now, he’s just a fighter, a rugged fighter.”

“I think [the Garcia fight] would be a pretty good fight. Garcia has power, but Benn does, too. I don’t know how Garcia would react if he got caught by Benn cause he can really punch. Both guys can hurt each other. That’s a good fight.”