Regis Prograis says there’s no chance Devin Haney will take his WBC light welterweight title away from him on December 9th in their fight at the Chase Center in San Franciso.
Fans and the oddsmakers see it differently. They feel Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) will defeat Prograis (29-1, 24 KOs) to take his WBC 140-lb belt, and there’s not much he can do about it.
Haney is on another level skill-wise, and the only chance the 34-year-old Prograis has is to knock him out. That won’t be easy to do because Haney will be boxing, keeping it long, and tying up Prograis on the inside.
Haney vs. Prograis will be shown on DAZN PPV on December 9th. Some boxing fans have grumbled about the event being put on PPV, but that’s probably the only way the match could happen. Haney doesn’t come cheap.
Regis came close to losing his last fight against Danielito Zorrilla last June, winning a twelve round split decision in a fight that many felt Prograis lost. He was dropped by Zorrilla and outboxed through most of the contest, which took place in Regis’ backyard in New Orleans.
Prograis insists Haney won’t take his belt
“With that face-off, y’all can’t wait to see that because this is something special. We talked a lot of stuff backwards and forwards. We went back and forth,” said Regis Prograis to Matchroom Boxing, talking about Devin Haney.
“At the press conference, I let my coach [Evins Tobler], him, and Bill [Haney] kind of do their thing. For me, I like to see my opponent and look them in the eye, and tell them what I feel about them,” said Prograis.
It would be smart for Prograis to let his strength coach Evins Tobler handle all the talking during the remaining press conferences because he livens things up, and it’s entertaining to listen to him insult Haney and his dad, Bill.
“I’m not about to do all this stuff across the table. So you get the real me sitting right across from me,” Prograis continued. “When my opponent is sitting right across from me, that’s when you get the real me. I know people are going to watch it, but when they see that, people are really going to like this.
“I don’t know about knockout stuff. I’m prepared for twelve rounds. I know I’m better than him on every level, period. I’m faster, I’m stronger, I hit harder. I’m everything, and I’m the natural one. I’m keeping my belt. He’s not taking my belt,” said Prograis.
There’s little chance that Prograis will knockout Haney because he’s too skilled, and he won’t be standing at close range for him to get his power shots off on December 9th. Prograis isn’t a one-punch knockout fighter, so the best he can hope for is to win a decision.
“Eddie [Hearn] definitely did. I’m not going to lie. A lot of promoters are full of s**t,” said Prograis. “With Eddie, he came to Houston. He said, ‘This is going to happen [Danielito Zorrilla], then Devin Haney.’ At the time, Devin Haney wasn’t even with Matchroom, but he said, ‘This is a possible fight,’ and it literally happened just like that.
“I got my homecoming in New Orleans, and then I’m fighting Devin Haney in a big fight right after that. So everything is happening that Eddie told me, it’s happening right now.
“In the next two weeks,” said Prograis when asked when his training will start to taper off for his December 9th fight against Haney. “I’ve got three weeks to go. I’m still in a hard training camp right now.
“Next week, we start tapering down a little bit, and then in fight week, once I get to San Francisco, then I start tapering off and getting my weight down and all that type of stuff.
Regis vowing to beat the stuffing out of Devin
“It’s going to be fire. I can’t wait. It’s definitely going to be a good night,” said Prograis. “Me, I’ve been staying out in California; I’ve been training out here. The California people embrace me. They say it’s Devin’s homecoming. It’s going to be my homecoming, I definitely feel like.
“I had one in New Orleans, but I used to live out in California myself, and I train out here. So this is my people, too. This is going to be my homecoming.
“‘And still,’ for sure. Devin can’t f**k with me. There’s no way that Devin can f**k with me. I’m faster, I’m stronger, I hit harder. I’m everything better than him. Footwork and all that.
“People can say what they want about my last performance, and they think that’s my identity. Good, y’all can think that’s my identity. I’m going to show you the real me.
“I’m going to show you what I’ve been doing forever. I’m fast, I’m strong, I knock people out. That’s what I do. Devin can’t knock s**t out. He ain’t knocked someone out in the last five years,” said Prograis.
Devin definitely isn’t a knockout puncher, but he’s done quite well for a fighter that doesn’t pack a big punch. That said, Haney can still win and make Prograis look bad in doing so. Haney’s skills are second to none, and he doesn’t run like Shakur Stevenson.
“The four or five opponents that he won, he had to box twelve rounds. I really knock people out. So, I’m going to beat the s**t out of Devin,” said Prograis.
