By Adam Baskin: WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis is already in training camp, preparing for his still-to-be-announced super fight against Devin Haney on December 9th on DAZN PPVat the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
Regiks is the underdog against the unbeaten 24-year-old Haney (30-0,15 KOs) and will need to raise his game to keep from getting dethroned. Haney obviously is fighting Prograis for a reason.
Devin and his dad, Bill Haney, believe that Prograis is a beatable champion. If they didn’t think Prograis was a winnable fight, he would be avoided in the same way that Haney is staying clear of IBF champ Subriel Matias, who has the kind of power to take advantage of his weak chin. So, in that respect, Haney is an opportunist.
Prograis (29-1, 24 KOs) believes he owes his getting this fight due to his off performance last June in his debut for Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing against the defensive-minded Danielito Zorrilla, who fought in a hit & run style all night, making it difficult for Regis to land more than one shot at a time.
Prograis won by a 12 round split decision, but it was his least impressive performance since his 12 round majority decision loss to Josh Taylor in October 2019 in London.
Even in that fight, Prograis fought better than he did in his close win over Zorrilla. What was troubling about Prograis’ performance against Zorrilla was his failure to let his hands go when he would cut off the ring against the Puerto Rican fighter.
Prograis looked gunshy and unwilling to let his hands go when he had Zorrilla in punching range. Some believe that the 34-year-old Prograis’ age was beginning to show.
“I’ve been working ever since they said his name, and I feel like I’m going to stop him,” said Regis Prograisto Fighthype about Devin Haney and their fight on December 9th. “I feel like I’m going to hurt him.
“I feel like his punch resistance is not there. He’s a good boxer, but he had a lot of close calls. I feel like Lomabeat him. Loma stepped it up on him and hit him with the cleaner shots.
“I feel like Loma landed the bigger, harder punches, and I feel like he did enough to win, but Devin got it; Devin is the undisputed, and now it’s me. I’m not Loma, I’m not nobody that he ever fought, and I think I’m going to hurt him.
“I respect him for that,” said Prograis about Haney moving up to 140 to fight him for his WBC title. “Obviously, they’re [TeamHaney] going off my last performance, and I’m glad because if I went out and blasted Zorrilla in one or two rounds, I wouldn’t be getting this fight. I’d be fighting somebody else.
“I’m glad. It’s a blessing to me. I’m glad that I didn’t look good against Zorrilla. He ran around the whole time, and Now I’ve got a super fight. That’s what boxing is all about.
“Now, we’re in the era of super fights. We got Jermell and Canelo fighting. You had Ryan & Tank, Spence & Crawford, and Deontay Wilder and Fury.
“Right now, we’re in the era of super fights, and this is another super fight,” Prograis said about his match against Haney next December.
“They’re saying December 9th, so I’ve been locked in ever since. It’s supposed to be in San Franciso, yep. I’m a two-time world champion, and I still don’t get the recognition that I deserve. I think this fight is going to put me on the map where I belong.
“Usually, when you become a two-time champion, you get the recognition, but my road has never been easy. It’s always been bumpy, but I feel like this fight is going to really put me on the map,” said Prograis.
