The former two-time light welterweight champion says he lost his connection to boxing during a stretch that included two one-sided defeats in 2023 and 2024, describing a period where success and money didn’t bring the satisfaction he expected.
“Everybody thinks that when you get all this stuff, when you get all this money, and you get all these things, you think you’re going to be happy. It’s like the opposite,” Prograis said on InsideRingShow. “A lot of things go to s***. That’s kind of what’s been going on with me for the last two years.”
Prograis has since returned with a win over Joseph Diaz and is now scheduled to face Conor Benn in a 10-round fight on the undercard of Fury vs. Makhmudov in London. He says the difference now is internal, not tactical.
“Another thing is, I kind of fell out of love with boxing. I got the tattoo on my arm. I’m obsessed with boxing, and I just kind of fell out of love with it,” Prograis said. “I didn’t have the passion that I once had. But now, I’m back at that stage of loving it. I’m really being in the gym, and I just love being in the gym with these guys.”
The claim is simple. The timing is harder to ignore.
A return to form built on motivation is difficult to measure, especially against a younger opponent who is expected to test durability early. The Diaz win provided activity, but it did not answer whether Prograis can handle pressure at this stage.
“I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, and I don’t do drugs. So, that’s my drug. Fighting is like my drug. That’s something I’m really addicted to,” Prograis said.
The fight with Benn will show whether the renewed interest holds once he is under fire again, or if the last two years were less about mindset and more about where he is now as a fighter.
