By Vince D’Writer: With his hometown fans in attendance at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, WBC super-lightweight champion Regis Prograis earned a split-decision victory over Danielito Zorrilla on June 17th, and now the WBC champion may be on the verge of colliding with an elite opponent.
Since winning the WBC super-lightweight title back in November 2022, Regis Prograis went from being an avoided contender to a champion with multiple options. Before Prograis could explore those other options, he had to take care of his immediate business in the ring at his homecoming event.
On the night of June 17th, Regis Prograis walked to the ring with a smile on his face while observing the fans in attendance. Once the bell rang to officially start the opening round, Prograis utilized his jab early and often.
With 21 seconds remaining in the first round, Danielito Zorrilla landed a hard right hand shot, and as he pressed forward, both fighters went down. At first glance, it appeared that the challenger scored a knockdown, but the referee called it a push.
In the third round of the bout, Prograis hit Zorrilla with a big left hand that sent Zorrilla down to the canvas. Zorrilla was able to get up and avoid Prograis by using constant movement to successfully survive the round.
For the remaining nine rounds of the bout, Zorrilla continued to use constant movement as he danced around the ring trying to set up his counter shots, while Prograis pressed forward, attempting to close the distance.
At the conclusion of 12-rounds, one judge scored the bout 114-113 for Zorrilla, but that score was overruled by the other two judges who scored the bout 118-109 and 117-110 in favor of Regis Prograis. The WBC super-lightweight champion was happy to get the win, but he wasn’t pleased with his performance.
Prograis admitted he was surprised at how Zorrilla danced around the ring all night. Prograis assumed that they would engage more during the course of the bout as he voiced his opinion in regards to the mindset of Zorrilla.
“He came to survive. He just came to survive. He didn’t want to get knocked out. He came to survive, and you know it was like I was chasing him. I had to chase him for 12 rounds.”
Eddie Hearn and Regis Prograis both admitted to the fact that Prograis didn’t have a great performance. An interested ringside observer agreed with the assessment given by Hearn and Prograis.
Devin Haney’s father/trainer Bill Haney was sitting ringside scouting the WBC super-lightweight champion Regis Prograis. Bill Haney didn’t seem too impressed by what he saw inside the squared circle. The subpar performance by Prograis has encouraged the Haney team as it relates to a possible future Prograis-Haney clash.
“I mean, the fighter was extremely awkward. That kind of fighter can kind of like make your performance not look as spectacular,” Bill Haney stated. “Taking nothing away from Regis, I’m going to let him enjoy his performance tonight, and we look to maybe talk to Eddie and the rest of the team about making a future fight with this guy.”
During his interview with FightHub TV, Bill Haney was asked about a potential bout between Devin Haney and Regis Prograis, and he responded by stating Prograis is a wanted man.
“There’s a warrant for Mr. Regis Prograis. There’s a warrant out for Mr. Regis Prograis. You know what I mean. Im here to make the announcement and I’m sure that Devin will be serving it soon.”
During the post-fight press conference, Eddie Hearn revealed that he received a message from Devin Haney. Then Hearn proceeded to turn his phone towards the media so they could see a picture of Devin Haney with a big smile on his face.
Later that night, with Regis Prograis by his side, Bill Haney FaceTimed his son, the undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney. Once Prograis saw Devin Haney on the phone, he was ready to deliver a message.
“What’s up, me and you next? Me and you next, Devin. I’m gonna f*ck you up. I’m gonna tell you in front of your daddy, I’m going to whip your a**. Don’t get that one performance f**ked up. I’m going to bust your a**. It ain’t going to be like that with you. You know that, ha?”