Regis Prograis vs. Josh Taylor on Oct.26, Parker vs. Chisora in co-feature

Image: Regis Prograis vs. Josh Taylor on Oct.26, Parker vs. Chisora in co-feature
By Boxing News - 08/27/2019 - Comments

By Kenneth Friedman: The WBSS final between Regis Prograis and Josh Taylor is being moved to October 26 at the O2 Arena in London, UK, according to @MikeCoppinger. In the co-feature, former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker will be facing Dereck Chisora. This will be on Sky Box Office PPV in the UK.

Parker-Chisora is a good match between two hard hitters in the heavyweight division. Parker (26-2, 20 KOs) recently signed a 3-fight contract with Matchroom Boxing, and they’re giving him a big push. A win for Parker, 27, against Chisora (31-9, 22 KOs) will have him the title picture. Chisora won’t be an easy out for Parker. Either of these guys could win, because Parker lacks the killer instinct that elite heavyweights need to succeed. Chisora has that quality, but he lacks the height and hand speed to succeed against the best.

Prograis vs. Taylor = pay-per-view worthy fight

There’s going to be some grumbling from British boxing fans at having to pay to watch the Prograis vs. Taylor card, but Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn is going to continue to fill the undercard with interesting fights. The first two fights alone on the card are enticing enough for many fans to watch to see it. The winner of this fight is expected to face WBA/WBO light welterweight champion Jose Ramirez in 2020 for the undisputed championship. Parker and Chisora are good fringe level heavyweights that will be scraping it out to stay relevant. The winner of the fight will remain in the world picture as a viable option for one of the champions.

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WBA light welterweight champion Prograis (24-0, 20 KOs) recently pulled out of the World Boxing Super Series 140-lb tournament over a number of issues with the organizers of the tourney. Prograis filled a lawsuit earlier this month in New Jersey against Comosa AG, the owner of the WBSS, saying that he’d breached the contractual obligations. However, they negotiated with Prograis to bring him back into the tourney to face the unbeaten IBF light welterweight champion Taylor (15-0, 12 KOs) in the WBSS final.

Prograis vs. Taylor to have two titles on the line

Taylor’s IBF 140-lb strap and Prograis’ WBA belt will both be on the line for their October 26 WBSS final at the O2 Arena in London. 2012 Olympian Taylor has recently been helping out Luke Campbell in sparring to prepare him for his fight this Saturday night against Vasiliy Lomachenko on Sky Box Office in London. With the sparring against Campbell, who is huge for a lightweight, Taylor has stayed sharp while out of action.

The southpaw Campbell has a much different fighting style compared to Prograis. The sparring that Taylor has done with Campbell will only help him so much for his fight against Prograis, because it’s like apples and oranges. Campbell and Prograis are entirely different type of fighters. For Taylor to be adequately trained for the Prograis fight, he’ll require sparring partners that have a style that is similar to his.

Prograis-Taylor won’t be taking place in Taylor’s home territory in Glasgow, Scotland, but he’ll have the crowd backing him 100% anyway. The fight is still taking place in the UK, and it won’t be a problem for Taylor’s boxing fans in Scotland to make the short trip to London to root him on against Prograis. It’s going to be interesting to see how well Prograis does in fighting with the crowd against him for a change. Prograis has fought exclusively in the United States since he turned pro in 2012.