Light welterweight contender Oscar Duarte takes on former 140lb champion Regis Prograis next month in a 12-round headliner on February 15th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The event will be shown live on DAZN.
Stepping Stone
Golden Boy Promotions selected Prograis as an opponent to be used as a stepping stone for the career of #9 WBA Duarte (28-2-1, 22 KOs), who has looked good since being knocked out in the eight rounds by Ryan Garcia. on December 2, 2023.
If Duarte wins this fight, he will get a higher ranking with the World Boxing Association because he is still far from being in a position to challenge for a world title.
The Fall of Regis
This is a must fight for the 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. unanimous decision defeated against Jack Catterall on October 26 in Manchester, England.
Former WBA and WBC welterweight champion Prograis made a beatable fighter better than he was in that fight. Before that, Regis lost Devin Haney by a one-sided 12-time unanimous decision on December 9, 2023.
Prograis needs to get back to his best form from 2015 to 2022. In his losses to Haney and Catterall, Prograis was not pressing like he did earlier in his career, and it looked like he was afraid to get hit.
Surprisingly, Catterall knocked Prograis down twice in the ninth round, and looked timid for the rest of the 12-round fight.
Return or retreat?
If Regis loses to Duarte, he needs to consider retirement because that would make it clear that he has no future. The only way to save things would be for Prograis to go down to 135 to try to reinvent it. It would be pointless for him to go all the way 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 16th. It was a good fight that involved a lot of two-way action. Akhmedov hurt Duarte at one point in the fight and landed a lot of heavy shots. Duarte’s power and strong chin allowed him to win the fight. It wasn’t an easy fight for him, though.
“I understand that inactivity is the death of a fighter. At this point in my career, I want and need to be more active,” said Prograis. “I think this fight has fireworks written all over it. My opponent is a strong, tough and hungry fighter, and it should be a great night in California. I’m excited for this fight and looking forward to next month.
