Boxing Results: Regis Prograis beats Ivan Redkach, wants Broner next

By Boxing News - 04/18/2021 - Comments

By Allan Fox: Regis Prograis wants to be given credit for a sixth round knockout victory instead of the sixth-round technical decision that was given to him last Saturday night in his win over Ivan Redkach at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

After the match, Prograis called out former four-division world champion Adrien Broner, saying he wants to face him next.

The former WBA 140-lb champion Prograis (26-1, 21 KOs) thinks that the 34-year-old Redkach (23-6, 18 KOs) did an acting job of faking like he’d been hit with a low blow after he was dropped in the sixth round after what appeared to be a right-hand to the body.

With the referee ruling it a low blow from #2 WBC Prograis, the match went to the scorecard due to Redkach being too hurt to continue. The scores were 60-54, 60-54, 59-54.

Other than the odd ending to the fight, it was a good performance by Prograis, who showed that he’s ready for a bigger fight, be it Adrien Broner or the winner of the unification match between Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez.

There would be more for Prograis to gain fighting the Taylor vs. Ramirez winner for the undisputed light welterweight championship. With that said. It’s going to be difficult for Prograis to get a fight against the winner of that clash.

Top Rank promoted both fighters, and they’re interested in having Teofimo Lopez take on the Taylor-Ramirez victor.

Prograis wants credit for a knockout

“I won by knockout; they better change that s***,” said Prograis at the post-fight news conference after his fight with Redkach. “He acted. I was beating him in every round; I was starting to catch him.

Image: Boxing Results: Regis Prograis beats Ivan Redkach, wants Broner next

“My coach told me to start pressing him. I asked him in this round [six] if I should start pressing him. As you saw, I started to walk him down, and I started to press him, and I was starting to get to him.

“I was starting to put pressure on him. And I was sitting down on my punches, hitting him harder, and I think that’s why I hit him with that body shot, and that’s why he quit.

“I saw it on the replay. They say that the way I hit him, the cup rubbed him wrong. Come on, man. That’s bull s***. I was starting to walk him down and get to him.

“He didn’t want to be knocked out, so that’s why he did it. I was really starting to hurt him. In the previous rounds, I was starting to get to him, and that’s why he felt that pressure coming,” said Prograis.

We’ll have to see if the outcome of the Prograis-Redkach fight is changed to a knockout, but it doesn’t matter. The boxing fans saw the replay, and it’s clear enough to them that Prograis should have been given credit for a stoppage.

What’s important is that Prograis looked good, got the win, and now he’s moving on to a bigger fight against possibly Broner. If not Broner, Prograis should look at facing one of these contenders at 140:

  • Viktor Postol
  • Jose Zepeda
  • Arnold Barboza
  • Pablo Cesar Cano
  • Jose Pedraza
  • Lewis Ritson
  • Ivan Baranchyk

Regis says it looked like a clean shot

“At first, I didn’t know,” said Prograis about what was going through his head after he dropped Redkach in the sixth.

Image: Boxing Results: Regis Prograis beats Ivan Redkach, wants Broner next

“I saw the people at ringside, and his wife was cursing me out. She was, ‘F*** you.’ Come on; the shot wasn’t low.

“Even in sparring, I’m always a clean fighter. I never hit nobody low, no matter what. What was going through my mind was, I thought he was quitting, and that’s exactly what he did, he quit the fight.

“I saw the replay; how was it in the back? I saw the replay. It looked like it was a clean shot to me.

“I got to see it again to see if it was low or not. I looked at the replay on the big screen, and it appeared that I hit him right in the stomach,” said Prograis of his fight-finishing shot on Redkach.

“Look at my face; I didn’t even get hit. I think he [Redkach] hit me with a few jabs, but he didn’t touch me. Ivan didn’t touch me.

“After he felt that I was too quick for him and too strong, he was fighting basically to survive.

“The knockout when I hit him, and they said it was low, but when the fight ended was in round seven, that’s when I started to get to him.

“I put my hands up, and I started to hit him, and I started to walk him down, and I started to press him. I think that’s why he quit,” said Prograis.

It’s got to be frustrating for Prograis that he wasn’t given credit for the knockout, but he did his job of putting Redkach down.

It’s the referee that decides these things, and he viewed it as a low blow. You have to respect his decision and move on.

Adrien Broner in Prograis’ sights for next fight

“Hopefully soon, I can talk to my management,” said Prograis about a fight between him and Broner.

YouTube video

“Hopefully, me and Adrien can make a super fight right here. That could be a potential next for me and him. Adrien, he always supported me.

“We always said we could f*** each other up, which I think I’m going to beat his a**, but at the same time, I think it’s good to get support from him.

“I’m going to talk to my management to see what’s up, but I really think me and Broner can make a super fight. Broner has a huge name, and I kind of have a name.

“I’m an explosive fighter, and we both talk a lot of s***. I’m going to kick his a**. I think that’s a huge fight, but we’ll see what’s going to happen next.

“Snoop [dog] was like, ‘You won that fight, that was clean. That was a clean shot.’ That was the main thing. I’m just p**** off.

“I’m not even worried about winning the fight, but I knew I was going to win, but I wanted that to be a knockout on my record.

“So I hope they change that because that wasn’t a low shot,” said Prograis.

Adrien, 31, is in a position where he needs to fight with Prograis because it’s unlikely that he will be able to keep winning, given how poor he looked in his last fight.