By Charles Brun: Regis Prograis is asking promoter Eddie Hearn to find a private island to stage his next fight against Maurice Hooker in the same way that Dana White is doing. Prograis, 31, says he just needs a “few weeks,” and he’ll be ready to face Hooker.
The UFC head honcho White has reportedly found a small private island to state events during the current crisis. He plans on using the island for his UFC 249 card on April 18, according to TMZ. The fighters would be flown into the island.
Prograis urges Hearn to find a small island
Former WBA light-welterweight champion Prograis (24-1, 20 KOs) had been scheduled to face former WBO 140-lb champion Maurice Hooker (27-1-3, 18 KOs) on April 17 on DAZN at the MGM National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Maryland. That fight along many others has been postponed, and there isn’t a rescheduled date that has been given.
Yoo @EddieHearn let’s find a private island and get this ball moving again. All I need is a few weeks and I’m ready 🥊 #boxing pic.twitter.com/asLWiOuMt7
— Rougarou (@RPrograis) April 7, 2020
The real obstacle that could keep Hearn and his Matchroom Boxing promotional company from staging the Prograis vs. Hooker card on an island are these issues:
- Commissions would need to agree to it
- Medical staff and hospital a requirement in case of emergency
- Cost involved in staging fight on an island
If Hearn were going to stage a clash on an island, he would do it for a big-money match-up like Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev, not Prograis-Hooker, which is a low-level match in comparison. There’s not enough money involved for Hearn to stage a fight between Prograis and Hooker on a private island. Even if Hearn could make that move, the cost involved would be prohibitive.
Dana White in a better position
One reason why Dana White can take his UFC fights to a small island is because they don’t have some of the same constraints as with boxing. It’s a company-owned business, and they can do a lot more than a controlled sport like boxing.
One thing that White may not be considering right now is the fact that a lot of American fans are currently out of work, having been laid off due to the current events. This is the wrong time to stage fights UFC fights if it’s going to be on pay-per-view. The card might do well this month on PPV, but down the road with many people unemployed, it won’t work to stage fights on an island if they’re expecting to turn a huge profit.
Instead of staging the Prograis vs. Hooker fight on an isolated island, the better option would be to schedule a card behind closed doors in a TV studio. But again, it would require medical staff, judges, a referee, TV crew, and there would need to be testing for everyone. If there’s one person among them that is sick, they could spread the illness to others in that surrounding.
