Prograis announces retirement after Benn Defeat in Emotional Farewell

Former world champion Regis Prograis has officially announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 37, following a decisive defeat to Conor Benn on Saturday night.

The bout, held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, marked the end of Prograis’ distinguished career, with the American revealing afterward that he had already made the decision to retire well before stepping into the ring.

Speaking to Ring Magazine, Prograis disclosed that the fight had long been planned as his farewell appearance. “Going in, I knew I was going to retire. This is my last fight. I knew this months ago – I just didn’t tell anybody but I was terrified going into this,” he said.

Despite the loss, Prograis reflected positively on his final outing, highlighting the scale of the event and the calibre of his opponent. Facing Benn in front of a crowd of around 70,000 provided what he described as the perfect stage to conclude his career. “It’s a great fight to be my last against someone like Conor Benn, someone that was strong – an arena like this with 70,000 in a stadium. I couldn’t ask for a better going away party, perfect end to my story,” he added.

In a candid admission, Prograis also confirmed pre-fight concerns about his physical condition. Reports suggesting he had been dealing with an injury were accurate, he said, revealing that he had seriously considered withdrawing from the contest as recently as 24 hours before fight night.

“The rumours about me being hurt were true. I wanted to pull out of this fight so bad a month ago but kept pushing. I was terrified and thinking about pulling out even yesterday,” Prograis explained.

The former two-time super-lightweight world champion retires with a professional record of 30 wins and four losses, including 24 victories by knockout. Over the course of his career, he captured the WBA super-lightweight title in 2019 and later added the WBC version of the belt, cementing his place among the division’s elite fighters.