Conor Benn Says He Could Have Made 147 After Weigh-In

Benn says weight cut was manageable and points to future move down

Conor Benn said he could have made the 147-pound limit after weighing in at 149.5 lbs for his 150-pound catchweight fight against Regis Prograis.

The bout, scheduled for 10 rounds at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, headlines a card streamed on Netflix. Prograis came in lighter at 148 lbs.

Benn indicated the cut posed no issues and suggested the lower welterweight limit is within reach.

“I definitely could have made 147 for sure, but until you’ve done it, you don’t know,” Benn said during the weigh-in broadcast. “A lot of people said you can’t just go up and walk around at 175 for two years and then drop back down to your natural weight.”

The 29-year-old said his preparation outside of camp played a role in the result, noting that he stayed active after his previous outing.

“I did it, and that was just me being disciplined out of training camp, running 10k every day, trying to get my weight down,” Benn said. “I was able to take this opportunity on six, seven weeks’ notice.”

Benn has competed at higher weights in recent fights, including bouts staged at middleweight, but described this week’s cut as manageable throughout.

“I’ve been sparring middleweights for this camp,” Benn said. “I’ve been putting them over in the gym, so I’m excited to be fighting someone my own size for once.”

Benn’s decision to set the fight at 150 rather than the welterweight limit of 147 has also drawn attention, given the physical differences between the two.

At 29, Benn enters with both youth and natural size on his side against Prograis, 37, who has lost two of his last four fights. The choice of weight has been viewed by some as a way to retain that edge rather than meet at the lower limit.

The fight with Prograis will mark Benn’s return to a lower weight range, with his comments leaving open the possibility of a future move to 147 depending on how he performs.