By Robert Segal: Eddie Hearn says Regis Prograis will have a lot of pressure on him to perform tonight in his homecoming in the title defense of his WBC light welterweight belt against Danielito Zorrilla on June 17 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, live on DAZN.
With all the interest created by Teofimo Lopez last Saturday with his impressive win over Josh Taylor and subsequent retirement, Prograis has got to go above and beyond and completely smash Zorrilla.
Understandably, Prograis is showing irritation in his recent interviews at being constantly asked about his thoughts on Teofimo, as the media seemingly ignoring him and his fight against Zorrilla and just using him to get attention on Teo’s recent clash.
Hearn recently signed Prograis, 34, and he wants to make a statement against Zorrilla because he’s got to move him quickly due to his advanced age.
Prograis must make a statement
To create more interest in Prograis’ career to rapidly build his fan base, and also to get the big fights, he’s got to destroy his opposition, starting with his title defense against his replacement opponent Zorrilla on Saturday in their headliner on DAZN. The card will be streamed live at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Prograis (28-1, 24 KOs) recently won the vacant WBC light welterweight title last November after being belt-less for three years, having lost his WBA 140-lb title against Josh Taylor in 2019.
Although Prograis would have likely beaten Taylor in the rematch or any other champion in the division, he was frozen out and avoided until last year when he beat Jose Zepeda to win the vacant WBC 140-lb title.
If not for Taylor vacating the WBC title last year, Prograis would still be beltless because there was little chance he would have given him a rematch willingly.
Regis focusing on Zorrilla
“He’s under pressure in this fight really. I mean, for one, it’s his homecoming, and he’s got a huge crowd coming on Saturday night, but everyone’s talking about the Teofimo fight, Haney fight, and Ryan Garcia fight,” said Eddie Hearn to Matchroom Boxing about Regis Prograis having the pressure to look good against Danielito Zorrilla on Saturday.
“He’s just trying to keep himself focused on Zorrilla, and Zorrilla said he thinks that Regis looks nervous and there’s a lot of pressure on him. There is because it’s not just about winning. It’s about making a statement.
“Off the back of last Saturday, everyone’s talking about Teofimo. You want everyone to wake up Sunday talking about Regis Prograis, and to do that; he has to look devastating. So there is pressure, and that comes with increased promotion and the profile.
“Before, he was a little bit under the radar, and now you know he was a little bit snappy. There’s obviously the weight-making tomorrow as well, but I think he’s going to want to go in there and do a job on Zorrilla on Saturday, and should he do a job on Zorrilla on Saturday?
“Like you just say, the plan is to jump back in pretty quickly for unification. Yeah, it’s about building. It’s about activity. We’re kind of building the profile of Regis Prograis at quite a late stage,” Hearn said.
Options for Prograis’ next fight
“He’s a world champion, but like I said, there will be a great crowd on Saturday,” Prograis said. “We build on those foundations. September, October, I expect to see him [Prograis] back in the ring. You’ve got Jack Catterall from the UK, and he wants to fight Devin Haney.
“I spoke to him last night. We’ll make him an offer next week [to fight Prograis]. You’ve got the winner of Montana Love against Richardson Hitchins. You’ve got Matias in the unification fight. You’ve got Ryan Garcia. If he actually wanted the fight, he could take that fight later this year, as well. So there are loads of options for Regis Prograis, but it really comes down to a dominant performance on Saturday.
“He [Haney] has an event that he’s attending on Saturday, but we spoke last night, and I expect to make him an offer next week.
“Richardson Hitchins, he’s been calling for a shot at a world title, and that’s the kind of fight profile-wise that you need to put you in that position. Montana Love was right there, you know. He got disqualified against Stevie Spark, but if he comes back and beats Richardson Hitchins.
“I expect the winner of that fight to be deep in the hunt for Regis Prograis as well. So Hitchins-Love is a brilliant fight on a great card in Detroit, and as I said, it’s kind of like an unofficial world championship eliminator. The new market here and a new market in Detroit,” Hearn said.
Regis must build his fanbase
“It’s bizarre that fighters from America aren’t built in their hometowns, and that’s something that we got to do,” Hearn said. “Alicia Baumgartner deserves that fight in Detroit. She’s got it. She’s undisputed, and she’s a big star.
“Regis Prograis, I think, is the best fighter 140 pounds. He should be selling out not just the Smoothie King, but he should be selling out the Superdome next door as well. We want to bring big fights to New Orleans, and this is just the start of it.
“So all these fighters and specifically, fighters that we’re bringing through now as well Diego Pacheco. Watch what he does in LA later this year when he headlines. Ray Ford, we have him fighting for the world championship near Camden, New Jersey.
“You’ve got to build these fighters in their hometowns because there’s an obvious affiliation with fans. There’s that tribal feel; there’s that that passion of your own. These are great fighters that these cities should come out and support.
“So New Orleans is a random market for us, and I was here 20 years ago, working on a PGA Tour, and it’s a wild place, but also it has a steep history in boxing; I think the first ever official prizefighter was here. You had the ‘no mas’ fight here as well.
“You had the World Heavyweight Championship here, and now you’ve got one of your own as a world champion, bringing World Championship boxing in here. So this is going to be important to us, as is Detroit. When you talk about history and boxing, Detroit’s right up there as well, so that’s a brilliant card on July 15, and it’s really important for us to build fighters in their hometowns,” said Hearn.
