Returning to the venue of his two fights with bitter rival Eubank Jr – both contested at middleweight – Benn was met with an emotional reception as he walked to the ring, underlining his status as one of British boxing’s most polarising figures.
Jeers and cheers echoed around the stadium as ‘The Destroyer’, accompanied by his legendary father Nigel, shadowboxed his way to the ring to a string orchestra.
Benn’s career was halted for two-and-a-half years after he failed a drug tests in 2022. Although he was later cleared by an anti-doping panel and denies any wrongdoing, questions continue to linger among sections of critics.
When the action began, Benn rocked Prograis with a right hand in the closing seconds of the first round, briefly buckling the American’s legs.
Prograis was rumoured to be carrying an injury into the fight and did not appear to move fluidly, his back leg looking somewhat stiff at times.
He leaned on his vast experience and remained elusive, but struggled to land clean counters as Benn consistently outworked him in the early exchanges.
A clash of heads in the fourth round caused a small cut above Benn’s right eye. He responded with uppercuts and body shots on the inside, while southpaw Prograis shook his head and replied with a straight left.
Prograis has spent much of his career campaigning at light-welterweight, 10lb lighter than this contest.
Another clash of heads in the sixth opened up a cut above Benn’s left eye. Prograis landed a straight left in the seventh, which wobbled Benn momentarily, before the Essex fighter responded with a series of hooks on the inside.
Benn’s former promoter Eddie Hearn, watching from the front row after their bitter split, looked on as the contest drifted increasingly towards the scorecards.