Regis ‘Rougarou’ Prograis believes undefeated WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo 32-0 (22) has the style to beat Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 57-1-2 (39) if the fight can be made.
The 31-year-old Charlo who boxes out of Houston, Texas is one option being considered for undisputed super middleweight champion Alvarez, 31, in May. That would be a one fight deal with PBC to be broadcast on pay-per-view.
The second option is a two-fight deal with DAZN that would see Alvarez face undefeated WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol 19-0 (11) in May and old foe Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin 41-1-1 (36) in a trilogy fight in September. Both fights would be broadcast on the streaming service rather than on pay-per-view.
Former WBA junior welterweight champion Prograis 26-1 (22) weighed in on Alvarez’s options, saying that Charlo has the best chance of victory.
“I got him. To me, I think Canelo is the baddest man on the planet right now, but I think Mall has the best chance,” the 33-year-old southpaw said to Fighthype.
“Out of everyone else, Jermall has the best chance of beating Canelo. I hope it goes through and happens the way it’s supposed to happen. I hope they make that fight.
“Jermall is strong; he’s strong as a motherfucker. He’s super, super strong. He hits hard. I think he’s got the style to beat somebody like Canelo.
“I think he’ll be one of Canelo’s strongest opponents he’s fought in the last few years, basically.”
Last year Alvarez scored victories over the previously undefeated duo of Billy Joe Saunders 30-1 (14) and Caleb ‘Sweethands’ Plant 21-1 (12) to add the WBO and IBF belts respectively to his WBC and WBA straps to become the undisputed champion at 168-pounds. Neither fight lasted the distance.
“A lot of people have been saying Canelo has been fighting,” Prograis said. “Of course, he has the resume; he’s the pound-for-pound, for me, the pound-for-pound number one in the world.
“But a lot of people are saying that his opponents aren’t up to par yet. The last [high-calibre] person [he faced] was GGG, but Jermall would be, I think, would be a tough test. Basically, I think he’ll be. He has the best chance right now of beating Canelo.
“It would be a highly entertaining fight for sure and I hope they make the fight happen. Even right now, [Charlo] is motivated. I hope they make that fight happen because definitely, I think he has the best chance.”
As for his own future, Prograis said he has one simple goal: to become champion again. His lone loss was to reigning undisputed junior welterweight champion Josh ‘The Tartan Tornado’ Taylor 18-0 (13), dropping a majority decision in a fast-paced and competitive fight.
Next up for Prograis is a fight against Tyrone ‘The Might Celt’ McKenna 22-2-1 (6) at the Duty Free Tennis Stadium in Dubai on March 19. Irish southpaw McKenna, 31, is ranked number 11 by both the WBA and WBO and 140-pounds.
“I just want to be a world champion again,” Prograis said. “My thing is to be world champion in 2022. That’s the main thing I’m working on; I want to be a champion.
“I’m fighting a dude, Tyrone Mckenna. I named him the ‘Unibomber’. That’s his nickname, the ‘Unibomber’. I gave him a name, ‘The Unibomber’. So I’m fighting Tyrone McKenna on March 19th in Dubai.
“So this dude I’m fighting, for me, it doesn’t matter. I want to be a champion. That’s my whole thing to be a champion. Whoever is in my way, I’m getting them out to be a world champion again. That’s what I want.”
