By Sean Jones: Regis Prograis will be getting in a defense of his interim WBC World light welterweight title against Juan Jose Velasco on July 14 on ESPN. The Prograis vs. Velasco fight card starts at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
Prograis (21-0, 18 KOs) wanted to challenge WBC 140lb champion Jose Ramirez, but the money that he can make competing in the 8-man World Boxing Super Series light welterweight tournament was better than what he can get in that fight, and he has a chance of coming out of the tournament with the IBF and WBA belts.
Prograis believes he’ll be able to face Ramirez after the tournament has ended, and he has the IBF and WBA 140lb belts in his possession. As long as Ramirez and his promoters at Top Rank are still willing to make the fight with him, it should be a great match-up. By that time, Ramirez, 25, will have had enough time to have gotten a couple of title defenses of his World Boxing Council belt, and he should be a more popular fighter.
If Prograis had decided to pursue the fight against Ramirez and insist that it take place, he would have had to wait until August, which wouldn’t have left him enough time to rest before taking part in the WBSS tournament in September.
Prograis and Velasco (20-0, 12 KOs) will mix it up on July 14 on ESPN at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. This is not expected to be a competitive fight. Prograis is taking this fight to stay busy before entering the WBSS tournament at the end of the summer.
Prograis looked great in his last fight in stopping former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Julius Indongo (22-2, 11 KOs) in the 2nd round on March 9 at the Deadwood Mountain Grand, in Deadwood, South Dakota. Prograis captured the interim WBC 140lb title with the victory over Indongo. It was a very good performance by Prograis in knocking Indongo down four times in the fight. Prograis dropped the 35-year-old Indongo down once in round 1 and three more times in round 2.
This is a Top Rank card that Prograis will be headlining. It’s in Top Rank’s best interest for Prograis to be seen by as many boxing fans as possible so that it increases interest in a fight between him and Ramirez later on after the WBSS tournament has ended. It’s unlikely the tournament will be televised in the U.S unfortunately, so this fight could be the last time U.S boxing fans see Prograis until he tournament ends.
“I’m thrilled and honored to be fighting back home in New Orleans,” Prograis said to ESPN.com. “For the last couple of years, everywhere I’ve went people have asked, ‘When are you fighting at home?’ I’m beyond excited that we can make this happen. The people of New Orleans have supported me from day one, and I love being from here and having the opportunity for the world to see me fight at home,” Prograis said.
Prograis has stopped his last six opponents dating back three years to 2015. The last fighter to go the distance against Prograis was the always tough Amos Cowart in August 2015. Prograis beat Cowart by an eight round unanimous decision. It was one of the gutsiest performances you’ll ever see from a losing fighter. Cowart had no quit in him, as he took a ton of punishment in lasting the full eight rounds against Prograis. Prograis’ recent fight against knockout artist Joel Diaz Jr. (23-1, 19 KOs) was supposed to have been a competitive one last year, but it turned out to be a mismatch. Prograis knocked Diaz Jr. down four times in the 2nd round in stopping him last year in June. Diaz Jr. showed very impressive punching power throughout the fight, but he couldn’t stand up to the heavy shots from Prograis. Diaz Jr. hasn’t fought since that loss. It had to have been a tough defeat for Diaz Jr. to swallow, as he’d been a very busy fighter with his career until losing to Prograis.
Prograis’ opponent 31-year-old Velasco comes from Argentina, a country known for having a lot of hard-hitting sluggers. Velasco has knocked out five of his last eight opponents since 2016. Velasco has recent stoppage wins over Jorge Martin Garcia, Sergio Manuel Liendo, Juan Garcia Mendez, Gustavo Armando Pereyra and Carlos Daniel Aquino. It’s still very hard to know how good Velasco is because he’s been fighting domestic level opposition in Argentina and not well known guys from the world scene. All you can say is Velasco has done what has been asked of him in beating the opposition that has been put in front of him. Of course, it’s going to be a different story when Velasco gets inside the ring with Prograis, who has been impressing boxing fans worldwide with his performances. Prograis could be the best fighter in the division, and he might even be better than former unified light welterweight champion Terence Crawford, who conveniently moved up to 147 just as Prograis was emerging as a threat. Last year, Velasco fought Juan Garcia Mendez in New Mexico, and stopped him in the 9th round.
“Regis is a superstar in the making. He has all the tools and intangibles to be an international star,” Prograis’ promoter Lou DiBella said to ESPN.com. “I’m very happy to showcase his talents on ESPN on July 14 in his hometown of New Orleans.”
Prograis believes that Jose Ramirez won’t last too much longer as the WBC light welterweight champion whether he fights him or not. Prograis thinks 2012 Olympian Josh Taylor (12-0, 11 KOs) is going to beat Viktor Postol (29-1, 12 KOs) in their fight on June 23, and then defeat Jose Ramirez to win the WBC 140lb belt.
Also, on the same card is unbeaten lightweight prospect Teofimo Lopez (9-0, 7 KOs) fighting in the co-feature bout against 31-year-old William Silva (25-1, 14 KOs) in a fight scheduled for 10 rounds. Silva lost to Felix Verdejo by a 10 round unanimous decision in February 2016. That was a tough bout for Verdejo. He got the win by a wide decision, but Silva gave him a lot of problems in losing. Silva has won his last two fights since then in beating Ariel Vasquez and Rogelio Casarez.