BoxingFight Previews

When Will Regis Prograis Get His Respect?

As I watched Regis Prograis brutally stop Kiryl Relikh in the sixth round, in his home state of Louisana, broadcast on DAZN this past weekend, I wondered aloud….

“When will I ever give Regis Prograis his credit?”

I mean, Prograis is good, we all know that. He won the WBA super lightweight world title, and despite how some marginalize belts, it still takes a lot of skill to get to that level.

Prograis was one of the better prospects DiBella Entertainment had to offer and now is finally getting his shine, but red flags are afoot, or am I just being a hater? – this is the rare instance, in which I really don’t know.

I know one thing, if you stand in front of Prograis, you will more than likely go down, and his power is beyond real.

My fears come from two things, struggles in the amateurs, though not a bad amateur, he wasn’t one I remembered from that era. In fact, in 2012, he made it to the Olympic Trials, but lost both of his bouts, in double eliminate format. I know this is meaningless to some, but I feel that a good chunk of talent from the amateurs take over at the upper echelon of the pros.

My other fear is defense, but I have reservations when saying this. Most probably say this, but they’re saying it based off him getting hit, which he does. I just wonder if Prograis gauges power, and if he feels he can walk you down he will, and that his big power shots are coming behind it.

Prograis is a fighter personally I want to see succeed since he is everything you want from a fighter from a fan perspective. He is interactive with fans on social media, a boxing historian referenece fights I have never seen nor will or even read about for that matter, an entertaining fighter and a really great person the times I have met him. When you encounter a fighter like this you hope for them to succeed, but hope and will are two different things, and I pride myself on honesty.

The hard thing is, I honestly have no clue – how good Prograis is beyond saying “…he is good.”

This is weird since he is a tournament styled promotion of the World Boxing Super Series in which seemingly the best fight the best with a few outliers to tournament being WBC super lightweight world champion Jose Ramirez, and potential 140 lbs Mikey Garcia, who is not officially at any weight class yet, after his Errol Spence Jr clash earlier this year on pay-per-view.

So a lot of fighters have done a lot less, and I have given them seemingly more credit. So rationally why do I question Regis Prograis as the best in the division, a division seemingly void of a dominant figure? – I am not sure, and it doesn’t seem fair, and even worse Prograis as mentioned multiple times is beyond a gentleman.

The question will be answered over the next few months, but until then, all we know is

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Lukie Ketelle

Lukie Ketelle