While Sean O’Malley seethes and Frank Warren files a $1 billion lawsuit, the boxing world is busy blaming Conor Benn for a $15 million payday for Benn vs Prograis, which he didn’t ask Zuffa to pay.
Just as the boxing world was settling down over its uproar over Benn’s new one-fight contract with Zuffa Boxing, the announcement of his fight date and opponents kicked up a new round of outrage and astonishment.
Benn will appear in the co-main event of the Fury vs Makhmudov heavyweight fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, April 11. In a written release, Turki Alalshikh and Ring Magazine announced that Benn would face former two-time world champion Regis “Rougarou” Prograis.
The British welterweight Benn of Ilford, Essex (24-1, 14 KOs) returns to the scene of his victory over Chris Eubank Jr in their second bout to face former two-time world champion Prograis of Houston (30-3, 24 KOs).
The Fury vs Makhmudov card will be streamed live globally on Netflix at no additional cost to subscribers.
Benn vs Prograis Co-Main on April 11
In a written statement, Benn said, “April 11th can’t come soon enough, 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.”
“Last time I fought in London, Conor Benn was on my undercard, so this is a full-circle moment for me. But this circle will close with me teaching him a lesson on April 11th. He’s not fighting some weight-drained super middleweight. I am in shape and will bring home this victory,” said Prograis in the release issues Thursday.
The remainder of the full card remains to be announced.
Announcement Riles Up Boxing Over Benn Signing With Zuffa
Just short of a week ago, Zuffa Boxing announced it had signed Benn to the single fight contract.
Although Benn has yet to win a championship title, he remains one of the UK’s biggest stars, in part due to being the son of former champion Nigel Benn.
The younger Benn had a blockbuster 2025 thanks to his two fights with Chris Eubank Jr., son of his father’s long-time rival, Chris Eubank Senior.
Benn agreed to move up to the middleweight division from welterweight to face Eubank Jr. Although Benn lost the first fight on April 26, he and Eubank Jr. delivered an all-action fight in front of a sold-out crowd of 67,484 people at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. It was recently selected as the Fight of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
It signaled a triumphant return to boxing after several years out of the ring as Benn fought his suspension for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, which he has insisted came from eggs.
Eddie Hearn’s Reaction
Upon hearing the signing news last week, Benn’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, reacted with equal parts hurt and anger. Hearn had Benn’s back throughout his suspension and even loaned him money to keep him afloat.
Hearn called the new painful, saying he was “pretty devastated” and misjudged Benn’s character by not pushing him to sign a new Matchroom contract.
“When I received the email from his lawyer, I texted him and said, ‘I think we should have a call, I think for everything I’ve done for you. I think you deserve, I deserve a call.’
“I backed him when he was done, out, loaned him hundreds of thousands of pounds. Some people, loyalty really matters. Other people, maybe not so.
“Maybe he’s not quite the person I thought he was.”
Opponent Speculation Proven Wrong
Benn has never won a world championship, and it can be argued that Eubank Jr. is his best opponent to date. Upon news of the signing, speculation swirled about what kind of opponent would make it worth handing over that kind of money to Benn.
After Ryan Garcia defeated Mario Barrios to win the WBC World Welterweight title on Saturday, Garcia’s name shot to the top of the list. But Garcia injured his right hand, making this a nonstarter for at least several months. Among the names Benn has called out in recent months are Shakur Stevenson, Rolly Romero, and Devin Haney.
But here we are with Prograis. In his prime, Prograis was among the most exciting world champions to watch. He rose to prominence with his narrow, competitive loss to Josh Taylor in the World Boxing Super Series in 2019 and went on to notch several good performances in the super lightweight division.
There was genuine enthusiasm when Prograis faced Devin Haney at the end of 2023. In his best performance to date, Haney thoroughly dominated Prograis, taking him apart. Prograis then suffered a loss to Jack Catterall, and it seemed he was headed for bare knuckle boxing.
But then Program took on Golden Boy’s Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr., and the two well past their prime fighters delivered a surprisingly thrilling ten-round slugfest won by Prograis. But Diaz Jr. put up a lot of pressure and hurt Prograis multiple times.
Prograis couldn’t have imagined getting this opportunity, and why wouldn’t he take it and whatever purse he’s getting, surely several million bucks at least?
Benn Payday Not Sitting Well With MMA World
Some of the outrage over the matchup comes from the mixed martial arts community, which is in the middle of conflict over the UFC’s pay schedule. The UFC just paid $375 million to settle an antitrust case brought by fighters who claimed their pay was controlled in a closed monopoly system. Another is pending.
Contrast this with Benn’s payday after UFC management told fighters its new deal with Paramount+ are forcing tighter profit margins, and bonuses would be reduced.
Those lawsuits hinge on claims that fighter pay has been suppressed in a closed system. Now put that next to a reported eight-figure boxing payday under the same corporate umbrella.
TKO president and COO Mark Shapiro tried to calm things down, blaming Hearn for stirring the pot. He clarified that Benn is being paid by Zuffa’s Saudi-backed SELA promotional partner, not involving any Zuffa funding.
When a boxer scores a $15 million payday within the same corporate family, fighters notice and they don’t like it. Both Justin Gaethje and Sean O’Malley have been vocal about the numbers.
“For me, it’s so hard to believe,” said O’Malley on his YouTube channel. “I don’t even know who Conor Benn is.”
As for Benn, his so-called “betrayal” of Hearn and Matchroom is overblown. It’s called prizefighting for a reason. Should Benn have told Hearn personally before he heard it from the news? Yes, but it doesn’t change the circumstances.
Calling Benn a “bank robber” is ridiculous. Benn didn’t commit a crime. The bank opened up the vault doors and invited Benn inside to empty the vault of $15 million.
The Long Term Zuffa Boxing Play?
Your algorithm wants you to hate Conor Benn for taking the money. But the real story isn’t the $15 million matchup. It’s the Saudi-funded shadow war that just cost Eddie Hearn his protégé and may cost Frank Warren a billion-dollar seat at the table.
Whoever made the decision to pay Benn and stage this fight against Prograis in a co-main event by Sela, TKO, the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, and Zuffa Boxing deserves answers to these questions.
What is the long-term play here? What does paying a single boxer without any championship status and a celebrity following in the UK get them?
Is this a poke in the eye to Eddie Hearn, serving merely to stir him up? This payday could be more about paying Benn to leave Hearn than to join Zuffa. If so, mission accomplished.
Is it a shot across the bow, warning other promoters they will need to burn their reserve funds to keep their top performers in the fold and happy, accelerating the pressure to compete with the unlimited bank account of the Saudis?
Within the decade, Zuffa/Sela/TKO could succeed in capturing all the top talent. Fighters who want their shot at them will be left with no option but to swallow hard and sign with Zuffa. They gain a fight but lose their leverage over pay as well as transparency over pay (because of the proposed changes to the Ali Act) in the long run. We won’t know for years whether this play succeeds.
But after Dana White has spent years claiming boxers are overpaid and nobody makes any money in boxing, the Benn situation is difficult to reconcile, even if the money isn’t coming from White’s wallet.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist and the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). She is the Managing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.