By Brian Webber: WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis and challenger Danielito Zorrilla both weighed in at 139 pounds on Friday at their weigh-in for their twelve-round main event clash at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Prograis (28-1, 24 KOs) looked relaxed and confident during the face-off with the 29-year-old substitute opponent Zorrilla (17-1, 13 KOs). Regis had been originally scheduled to defend against the dangerous southpaw Liam Paro, but he was injured in camp and had to pull out.
The talented Prograis, who many feel is the top dog in the light welterweight division, is the latest acquisition for Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn.
The Zorrilla fight is just the start for Prograis, as he could be involved in some interesting fights against Devin Haney, IBF champion Subriel Matias, Ryan Garcia, Jack Catterall, and the winner of the Richardson Hitchins vs. Montana Love fight.
Zorrilla is a big puncher with an aggressive seek & destroys style of fighting that could give Prograis something to think about on Saturday night. The only loss on Zorrilla’s resume was a close ten round unanimous decision last year against the highly touted contender Arnold Barboza Jr.
Eddie Hearn: “This man, I believe, is the #1 fighter in the 140-lb division. Definitely, now that Teofimo [Lopez] has retired as well,” said Eddie Hearn to DAZN Boxing about Regis Prograis. “The head-to-head was intense. They fancy this, Zorrilla.
“Zorrilla is a really good fighter. He’s coming to fight on Saturday night. Regis has got his bit between his teeth, and he’s ready to go. I back this guy to beat everyone in the division. That’s why I made the big play for him.
“If he was just a world champion at 140, I didn’t believe he could beat everybody. That’s no fun. What’s fun is you can get behind a guy and say, ‘I put my money behind him beating everyone in the division.’
“There’s going to be a big crowd in there tomorrow night, and there’s going to be a great atmosphere, and he’s going to make a statement to the world,” said Hearn.
“Then we want everybody. He wants all the smoke, and I believe he’s the best fighter at 140, but let’s see him go to work tomorrow night,” said Hearn about Prograis.
Regis Prograis: “Every time I fight, I got to prove it. I got to go out and prove that I’m the best, and that’s what I want to keep on proving,” said Prograis. “It’s all irrelevant until tomorrow night. He’s got to go through this guy and go through him in style. Show the quality and skill and show everything.
“Definitely, for sure. You see the crowd; you see my people here. It definitely feels good to be back. I love the energy. Leading up to the week, I really wasn’t in the mood, but the weigh-in. I to the weigh-in out of the way. I seen him. He’s hyped. Now, I’m in that mood to fight.”
Chris Lloyd: “He’s chasing unifications at 140 once again, but before that, he has to focus on the man in front of him Saturday night. A late change of opponent brought in with five weeks notice against the Puerto Rican puncher Danielito Zorrilla,” said Chris Lloyd of DAZN, talking about WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis’ title defense against replacement opponent Danielito Zorrilla on Saturday night.
“We know he [Zorrilla] can punch and saw how dangerous he was against Arnold Barboza late last summer. Regis Prograis will defend his WBC 140-lb title tomorrow night live on DAZN.
“The WBO title is now up for grabs. There are some really good fighters that will be going after that. Regis Prograis will want to get in and fight for the belt as well.”