Boxing Apr 19, 2026

Conor Benn grinds out unanimous decision victory over Regis Prograis on Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov undercard

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
Conor Benn grinds out unanimous decision victory over Regis Prograis on Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov undercard

Conor Benn defeated former world champion Regis Prograis on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s comeback bout at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Benn won a unanimous decision, 98-92 for all three judges, and Prograis announced his retirement shortly after the contest.

Benn was revisiting the ground where he concluded his rivalry with Chris Eubank Jr last year, moving down to an 150lb catchweight after those two middleweight contests with Eubank.

Prograis, a gifted two-time world champion at super-lightweight, is in the twilight of his career and was moving up in weight for this fight. But he had enough wiles in his work to give Benn plenty of food for thought.

The southpaw found holes in Benn's defence, landing his left to the head at times and hitting to the body.

Head clashes opened up cuts for Benn as well, giving him a further challenge to contend with.

But Benn's youthful energy and consistent aggression saw him through. He swung freely with hooks, driving blows into Prograis' trunk too.

Prograis felt his power. Benn staggered him with a one-two on the bell at the end of the first round and Benn would bomb his right cross through the middle as the fight progressed.

The American's left cross knocked Benn back a step in the seventh round, but then Benn's right drove Prograis off just the same.

At the start of the ninth round he harried Prograis, working with jabs. He rattled a long right hook round the former champion's ribs and reeled off a brace of lead lefts.

As the bout drew to a close, Prograis was having to rely on cussed resilience. Only good fighters, Josh Taylor, Devin Haney and Jack Catterall had beaten him before, but none of them had managed to stop him.

He held out against Benn too. With blood from his cuts masking his face, Benn chopped hard right and left hooks to Prograis' chin but the American took the hits to last the 10-round distance.

Richard Riakporhe became a two-time British champion, and announced himself as a potent threat in the heavyweight division when he dispatched Jeamie TKV in five rounds.

TKV came in as the defending champion after his victory last year over Frazer Clarke and he looked to crowd Riakporhe. But the latter launched his booming right to trouble him in the early going of the contest.

The contest grew scrappy as TKV hustled forward and caught Riakporhe up in clinches. TKV was admonished by the referee and deducted a point for leading with his head.

Riakporhe soon took matters into his own hands. A clubbing right round the side of the head saw TKV stagger to the canvas and slide away on his knees.

With Riakporhe going in to finish, TKV tried grabbing him in a hold, only for Riakporhe to toss him to the canvas.

The challenger smashed in a huge right and threw the back hand again. His left hook hit hard, the right swept across with massive force and as he struck with his left and then an uppercut the referee prised them apart, ending the fight at 2-12 of the fifth round.

"The plan is to carry on knocking these guys out. I want to challenge for the world title, I'm keeping my eye on Fabio Wardley against Daniel Dubois - I'd love to fight the winner," Riakporhe declared.

But he also called out Johnny Fisher, saying: "I want to offer them the opportunity to fight for this belt, it's here for you."

Justis Huni edged out Frazer Clarke on a majority decision after their 10-round heavyweight clash.

One judge had them level 95-95 but the other two had Australia's Huni winning 96-94.

Clarke however emerged from the defeat with credit. He had pushed Huni, a high calibre heavyweight contender, close.

That was especially significant as Clarke was coming into this fight after a punishing loss to Jeamie TKV for the British heavyweight title in his last fight. The trajectory of the Olympic medallist's future career was in the balance.

Under pressure Clarke boxed with some assurance from the centre of the ring. But it was Huni's hand speed that proved the difference. The Australian whipped in his rapid left and varied his work well from the head to the body.

Clarke switched up a gear at the end of the fourth round, clipping Huni with a combination and then heaving in hooks to the body and an uppercut to the head.

In the ninth round a fine right cross from Huni slammed into Clarke and the Australian cracked in his right uppercut, a punch he'd utilised well.

Clarke sought to chase him down in the last round but Huni finished the bout moving on his feet, satisfied with his work.

As disappointing as the result will be for Clarke, it was a much improved performance for him in a first fight under new trainer Joe Gallagher.

Tags:

boxing news

Share this article

Related Posts

Amanda Serrano and Ellie Scotney in the sights of world champion Nina Meinke

Amanda Serrano and Ellie Scotney in the sights of world champion Nina Meinke

Nina Meinke will be a keen observer when Ellie Scotney takes to the ring this Sunday, but she also isn't giving up on a blockbuster showdown with Aman...

Terri Harper condemns Caroline Dubois ahead of April 5 clash: 'I don’t like rude people. I don’t like bullies'

Terri Harper condemns Caroline Dubois ahead of April 5 clash: 'I don’t like rude people. I don’t like bullies'

Terri Harper insists their growing enmity will only fuel her in her fight against Caroline Dubois.Harper and Dubois put their WBO and WBC lightweight...

Jake Paul expects to return to boxing late in the year but is 'serious' about fighting Oleksandr Usyk in MMA bout

Jake Paul expects to return to boxing late in the year but is 'serious' about fighting Oleksandr Usyk in MMA bout

Jake Paul expects to return to boxing later this year, but needs to recover fully from his broken jaw.Paul, a social media influencer turned professio...

Sebastian Fundora demolishes Keith Thurman in Las Vegas to retain WBC super-welterweight title

Sebastian Fundora demolishes Keith Thurman in Las Vegas to retain WBC super-welterweight title

Sebastian Fundora handed Keith Thurman the first stoppage defeat of his career as he demolished his fellow American inside six rounds to retain the WB...

Jake Paul says he will buy Ellie Scotney a car if she beats Mayelli Flores to become undisputed champion

Jake Paul says he will buy Ellie Scotney a car if she beats Mayelli Flores to become undisputed champion

Jake Paul says he will buy Ellie Scotney a car if she wins this weekend. Scotney, who is signed to Paul's Most Valuable Promotions, will become the UK...

Moses Itauma set to become mandatory challenger for WBO heavyweight title with Daniel Dubois or stablemate Fabio Wardley in sight

Moses Itauma set to become mandatory challenger for WBO heavyweight title with Daniel Dubois or stablemate Fabio Wardley in sight

Moses Itauma is set to become the mandatory challenger for the WBO heavyweight title - potentially putting him on a collision course with stablemate F...