LONDON – After a unanimous decision victory over Regis Prograis on Saturday, Conor Benn’s biggest fight will now be against Ryan Garcia.

Welterweight fighter Benn (25-1, 14 KO), 29, had a lot going for him in his non-title fight against Prograis (30-4, 24 KO) in front of around 60,000 spectators at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after deciding to switch promoters from Matchroom to Zuffa Boxing as part of a lucrative contract.

Was it worth his reported $15 million payday? Benn was unable to secure the knockout that would have sealed a dominant performance and provided real value for money, but he only lost two rounds and the victory still boosts his welterweight world title hopes by the end of the year.

Much like Tyson Fury’s victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov, Benn’s UD victory over former junior welterweight champion Prograis was a stepping stone to something bigger.

While Fury is eyeing a potential megafight with fellow former champion Anthony Joshua, Benn is only targeting the biggest names in the welterweight division, with American Garcia at the top of his wish list.

Benn, who lives in Essex, described it as “the best decision of my career” to leave Matchroom for Zuffa and face Prograis in a ten-round non-title fight, fighting three pounds over the welterweight limit.

Prograis, 37, from Up-to-date Orleans but based in Las Vegas, earlier this week denied suffering an injury during training, but the American’s movements seemed confined and prevented him from applying sustained pressure.

After losing the WBC junior welterweight title to Devin Haney on points in 2023, it was Prograis’ third loss in four fights and sent him into retirement.

Benn is now a free agent after signing a one-fight deal, although Zuffa is expected to be a prime candidate to work with him again. The biggest one for Zuffa and Benn would be Garcia. Benn is desperate to fight for his first world title, and preferably the WBC belt, which his father Nigel held at super middleweight from 1992 to 1995.

Garcia seemed to welcome the reunion on social media, saying, “I’m depressed. Garcia vs. Benn. Let’s do it.”

Like Benn, Garcia is loud and there will be enough nonsense to ensure the viewership will make it one of the most watched boxing events this year, potentially on Netflix.

Garcia (25-2, 20 KO), the 27-year-old Los Angeles native, won the WBC belt with a UD points victory over Mario Barrios in February, and his hand speed will make this his toughest test yet for Benn, even if jumping two weight classes to face English rival Eubank was quite the task.

WBO champion and ESPN welterweight No. 1 Devin Haney (33-0-1 NC, 15 KO), Brian Norman (28-1, 22 KO), who lost to Haney on points in November, and WBA champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero (17-2, 13 KO) are the next candidates to fight Benn, who is commercially attractive to Zuffa due to his drawing power in the UK in the last three fights taking place in front of huge gates in open-air stadiums in London.

Romero caused an upset when he unanimously overtook Garcia in Times Square almost a year ago and was most recently linked to a title unification fight with Haney.

IBF belt holder Lewis Crocker is promoted by Hearn’s Matchroom, so it seems unlikely he would fight Benn now.

Shakur Stevenson (25-0, 11 KO), the WBO junior welterweight champion, is another option, but the American’s deft skills and movement would be a arduous challenge for Benn and a surprising choice for Zuffa given the investment in the English boxer.

However, a fight against Garcia, who has nearly 13 million followers on social media, is likely to attract the attention of more than just die-hard boxing fans and will certainly be Zuffa’s No. 1 priority.

Whoever Benn faces next – Garcia, Romero, Haney and Teofimo Lopez are top picks – the English boxer can expect a tougher fight than Prograis.

The catchweight limit of 150 pounds (three pounds above the welterweight limit) was the lowest Benn has fought since 2022, following two middleweight fights against Chris Eubank Jr. and prohibition following a positive drug test.

There was some concern that Benn would be weakened by the weight cut, but he showed unrelenting performance and a forceful jab in the first half of the fight.

It was nasty at times – Benn was caught lunging too much for the southpaw Prograis.

Benn finished the fight with cuts around both eyes, but his work rate and aggression kept the decision open (98-92 on all three scorecards).