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Former 140-pound titlist Regis Prograis couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows when news of Conor Benn’s positive drug test reached him.
Benn, the British welterweight, was supposed to take on Chris Eubank Jr. in a highly publicized 157-pound catchweight bout earlier this month but three days out from fight night, it was revealed that Benn had previously tested positive for the banned substance clomifene, a fertility drug that boosts testosterone levels in men. In the end, after the British Boxing Board of Control refused to authorize the match, the entire event was scrapped.
at a recent hearing with the BBBoC, Benn relinquished his license to box.
In the days and weeks of the revelation, fighters in the boxing world have offered their opinions on the scandal. Naturally, former Benn opponents Chris Algieri and Chris van Heerden have been among the most vocal critics of Benn; both fighters suffered highlight knockouts at the hands of the Briton.
In a recent interview, Prograis added his own two cents to the mix. Prograis said he was struck by Benn’s notable knockout spree that included the stoppages over Algieri and van Heerden because he had been led to believe that Benn was not necessarily a top-shelf fighter. Prograis said when he challenged Josh Taylor for a 140-pound unification match, in 2019, at the O2 Arena in London, he was told by certain people that Benn was not someone to keep an eye out for. So when Benn began taking out the likes of Algieri and van Heerden, Prograis took note.
“I don’t know about Conor Benn too much,” Prograis told FightHubTV. “One thing I heard about, when I went to the UK, he fought on the undercard for Josh Taylor. People [at the time] said ‘Oh he’s not that good’ and now he’s just destroying people. He knocked out Chris van Heerden bad. He knocked out Algieri. He destroyed these guys, these guys, especially Chris van Heerden.”
“I know Chris. I sparred Chris and he fought Errol [Spence], he fought [Jaron] Ennis, and they didn’t do him like that. Conor Benn just knocked him out cold. So, I mean, if he was doing it the whole time, I don’t know, but it’s just another black eye for the sport.”
Prograis said Benn’s positive test has raised his general suspicions about rampant doping in the sport.
“It’s terrible, bro” Prograis continued. “My coach told me this a long time ago, ‘everybody cheating.’ I don’t believe that. For me it’s so hard to — like, I never ever thought about doing none of that stuff.”
“I’m even scared to take certain protein shakes and stuff. People give me certain foods, like, bruh I don’t want to take that, I’m scared. You know, like, stuff might come up in my blood. So, for somebody to cheat and stuff — from what I understand now, I’m starting to learn more. It’s a part of the sport, and that’s sad to even say that.”