Regis Prograis is certain that he’ll knock out newly crowned WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez if he looks his way for his next fight.
Unlike many fans, WBC 140-lb Prograis (28-1, 24 KOs) wasn’t impressed by Teofimo’s victory over WBO light welterweight champion Josh Taylor last Saturday night at the Hula Theater at MSG in New York.
Prograis says the 32-year-old Taylor (19-1, 13 KOs) isn’t the same guy that he fought in 2019, as he’s gotten older and deteriorated.
The punishment Taylor took against Prograis in addition to his war against Jose Ramirez in 2021, injury problems, inactivity, and the natural aging process left him vulnerable against the 25-year-old Teofimo.
It’s unknown whether Teofimo will fight again because he announced his retirement after his win last Saturday night. He appears to be going through a lot mentally outside of the ring.
If Teofimo does fight on, he’s got potential big-money fights available to him against Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, Shakur Stevenson, and Gervonta Davis.
Surprisingly, none of those guys took to social media to call Teofimo out after his win over Taylor, which could be a sign that they view him as too big of a threat to mix it up with.
“I still feel like I stop Teo, for sure,” said Regis Prograis to Fighthype bout his belief that he’ll knock out Teofimo Lopez. “Styles make fights, and I definitely think I’ll stop Teo.
“I’m definitely a different fighter [than in 2019 when he fought Josh Taylor and lost].
“Nah, I think he’s frustrated. He said he got paid a million dollars to fight [Josh Taylor]. That terrible,” said Prograis when asked if he sees Teofimo carrying out his retirement threat.
“That is terrible money, so I don’t think he’s going to retire. If me and him fight, he’ll probably get 10 times what he got. So I don’t think he’s going to retire.
“There are too many big fights out there for him. I think it’s a cry out-loud right now because you know what he is going through. He still has mental issues now.
“He can fight for sure, but it’s still like he has things going on. He only made a million to fight the former undisputed champion. It just makes no sense, but I don’t think he’s going to retire. I definitely don’t think he’s going to retire.
“He likes money, his dad likes money, so you know they’re going to go back. They might say they’re retiring right now. That’s probably how he was feeling, but I think for sure he’ll come back because he can’t walk away from the biggest fight of your life.
“How are you going to walk away from the biggest fight of your life? So I definitely don’t think he’s going to do it. I think he’s going to come back, and hopefully, he can face me, and he might make 10 million if he fights me,” said Prograis about Teofimo.
