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Light welterweight contender Oscar Duarte will face former two-time 140-pound champion Regis Prograis next month in a 12-round main event on February 15 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The event will be broadcast live on DAZN.
Trampoline
Golden Boy Promotions has chosen Prograis as an opponent to use as a springboard in the career of WBA No. 9 Duarte (28-2-1, 22 KOs), who has looked good since being knocked out in the eighth round by Ryan Garcia . on December 2, 2023.
If Duarte wins this fight, he will earn a higher ranking in the World Boxing Association because he is still far from being fit to compete for a world title.
The fall of Regis
This is a must-win fight for 35-year-old Prograis (29-3, 24 KOs), as he has lost two in a row and hasn’t won since 2023. Regis is coming off a one-sided 12-round fight. defeat by unanimous decision against Jack Catterall on October 26 in Manchester, England.
Former WBA and WBC light welterweight champion Prograis made a beatable fighter look better than him in that fight. Before that, Regis lost to Devin Haney by unilateral unanimous decision in 12 rounds on December 9, 2023.
Prograis needs to regain his best form from 2015 to 2022. In his losses to Haney and Catterall, Prograis didn’t push like he had earlier in his career, and it looked like he was afraid of getting hit.
Surprisingly, Catterall knocked down Prograis twice in the ninth round, and looked timid for the rest of the 12-round fight.
Return or retirement?
If Regis loses to Duarte, he should consider retiring because that would make it clear that he has no future. The only way to save things would be for Prograis to drop to 135 to try to reinvent itself. It would be useless for him to move up to 147 because he has already shown chin problems at 140.
Duarte is coming off a 10-round unanimous decision over Botirzhon Akhmedov on November 16. It was a good fight that involved a lot of two-way action. Akhmedov hurt Duarte at one point in the fight and landed many hard shots. Duarte’s power and strong chin allowed him to get the fight. However, it was not an easy fight for him.
“I understand that inactivity is the death of a fighter. At this point in my career, I want and need to be more active,” Prograis said. “I think this fight has fireworks written all over it. My opponent is a strong, tough, hungry fighter, and it should be a great night in California. “I am excited for this fight and looking forward to next month.”
