By Vince D’Writer: Since starting his pro boxing career in 2012, Regis Prograis had a dream, and thanks to Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing, the dream is about to become a reality on Saturday night as Prograis will defend his WBC 140-pound title against Danielito Zorrilla (17-1, 13 KOs) at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana live on DAZN.
The two-time super-lightweight champion Regis Prograis is looking forward to entertaining his hometown crowd, and successfully defending his WBC strap, while Danielito Zorrilla plans on playing the role of spoiler and pulling off the big upset.
After losing his WBA super-lightweight title back in October 2019, Regis Prograis experienced extreme difficulty in regards to securing another opportunity to fight for a title. Finally in November 2022, Prograis received the chance to fight for the vacant WBC title, and he capitalized on his opportunity by defeating Jose Zepeda by way of 11th round stoppage.
While Prograis had extreme difficulties trying to obtain a second shot at fighting for a world title, Danielito Zorrilla was gifted a championship bout. Undefeated super-lightweight contender Liam Paro was set to face Prograis on June 17th, but Paro was forced to withdraw from the match due to injury.
Paro’s misfortune turned out to be an unexpected gift for Zorrilla. Now that Zorrilla has been fortunate enough to receive the chance to fight for a world title, he plans on capitalizing and taking full advantage.
“It’s a huge opportunity, a huge fight for me, and you saw me in the gym yesterday. We giving our all, we’re putting everything into this so we can surprise the world on Saturday night,” Zorrilla stated during the press conference.
The challenger Danielito Zorrilla is a good counterpuncher who likes to control the distance. He’s economical with his shots, but he’s accurate, and he has good punching power.
The defending champion Regis Prograis is a southpaw who is a complete fighter. Prograis has good punching power, he’s constantly using head movement, has a consistent work rate, and he has the ability to systematically break his opponent down.
The challenger Danielito Zorrilla is aware of the champion’s elite talent level, and he knows that he will be a big underdog on Saturday night. However, at the final presser as he spoke about the fight, Zorrilla seems to be focused, calm, and extremely confident.
“He’s a great boxer, he’s one of the best in the world. I have to thank him for the opportunity, but I believe in my abilities and I believe that we have the tools and the ability to beat him on Saturday.”
Regis “Rougarou” Prograis (28-1, 24 KOs) has always dreamed about fighting in his hometown at the Smoothie King Center and the Superdome. On Saturday night June 17th, Prograis can officially cross the Smoothie King Center off of his checklist.
The 34-year-old Regis Prograis has big future plans in regards to unification bouts, but at the moment he’s 100 percent focused on Danielito Zorrilla. Prograis is ready for Saturday night as he doesn’t feel distracted or feel any pressure going into his hometown fight.
“I think when I fought at the Lakefront, I was a little more nervous. That was the first big fight I had in New Orleans,” Prograis stated. “Now, I’m just cool. It’ll be pressure, but I’m just ready for this moment. I’m ready to come out here and really just have fun. This is what I do. I’m just ready to go show out.”
