WBC junior welterweight champion Regis ‘Rougarou’ Prograis 29-1 (24) has dismissed claims his world title defence against former undisputed lightweight champion Devin ‘The Dream’ Haney 30-0 (15) will be a battle of power versus skill.
Haney will be testing the waters in the 140-pound division when he takes on Prograis at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California on December 9. The 24-year-old holds the WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine championships at 135-pounds and is listed as ‘champion in recess’ by the WBC.
Haney has long been considered a big lightweight and many fans and pundits see a move up to junior welterweight as long overdue. With his jab and move style he is seen as a slick boxer while New Orleans southpaw Prograis, 34, is viewed as a power puncher with his 83% stoppage ratio.
But Prograis believes people are underestimating his own ring nous and boxing IQ.
“I believe I have the power to take anybody out,” Prograis said. “But I feel like, you know, I think – I don’t wanna say too much, but I think like he gonna be surprised at the skill.
“Like I been working my ass off, bruh. Like I been in LA training, sparring, doing all that shit in Texas, sparring, all that shit a long time ago. So, it’s not gonna be no skill versus power. It’s gonna skill versus skill.
“And then I still have power too, but it’s not gonna be oh, just skill versus power. No, it’s gonna be skill versus skill and I wanna show people the skill. That’s what I wanna show this fight, the skill. And I got power. I obviously got power too, but it’s not gonna be no skill versus power. It’s gonna be skill versus skill.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn rates Prograis as the hardest hitter in the junior welterweight division.
“You got Regis, you got Teofimo [Lopez]. I know Tank fluctuates between the weights. But yeah, I would say Regis is the hardest puncher,” the Matchroom Boxing boss said.
“Everyone likes to play back the [Jorge] Linares clip, where [Haney] got rocked at the end of the round. But this happens in boxing. But can he stand up to the firepower of Regis Prograis, if he’s getting hit flush? A lotta people think no, but you know, I guess his plan is to not get hit flush.”
“How is Devin gonna perform at 140? You know, two arguments might be he’ll be really good and strong because he’s been struggling at ’35. And the other one might be he might not be big or strong enough and maybe his [best] asset at 135 was his size.
“I just think it’s a great fight. I respect Devin because he could’ve had an easier route. But I think this was a master play by him and [father and trainer] Bill [Haney] if they pull it off, to move up and to get a belt at 140 after everything they did at 135.”
