Light welterweight contender Oscar Duarte faces former two-time 140-pound champion Regis Prograis next month in a 12-round headline bout on February 15 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The event will be shown live on DAZN.
Stepping Stone
Golden Boy Promotions has selected Prograis as a contender to use as a launching pad for the career of WBA No. 9 Duarte (28-2-1, 22 KOs), who has looked good since being knocked out in the eighth round by Ryan Garcia on December 2, 2023.
If Duarte wins this fight, he will be ranked higher in the WWF as he is still far from being in a position to challenge for a world title.
The fall of Regis
This is a must-win fight for the 35-year-old Prograis (29-3, 24 KO), 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 defeat against Jack Catterall On October 26 in Manchester, England.
Former WBA and WBC light welterweight champion Prograis made a beatable fighter look better than he did in that fight. Before that, Regis lost to Devin Haney By unanimous 12-round unilateral decision on December 9, 2023.
Prograis needs to recapture his best form from 2015 to 2022. In his losses to Haney and Catterall, Prograis wasn't pressing like he was earlier in his career, and seemed to be afraid of getting hit.
Surprisingly, the light-hitting Catterall dropped Prograis twice in the ninth round, and looked timid for the remainder of the 12-round fight.
Return or retirement?
If Regis loses to Duarte, he should consider retiring because that will show that he has no future. The only way to salvage things is for Prograis to drop back to 135 to try to reinvent himself. It would be pointless for him to get to 147 because he has already shown chin issues at 140.
Duarte is coming off a 10-round unanimous decision over Butyrjon Akhmedov on November 16. It was a good fight that included a lot of one-on-one action. Akhmedov injured Duarte at some point in the fight and fired several heavy shots. Duarte's strength and powerful chin enabled him to carry the fight. However, the battle was not easy for him.
“I understand that inactivity is the death of a fighter. At this point in my career, I want and need to be more active,” Prograis said. “I think this fight has fireworks written all over it. My opponent is a tough, tough, hungry fighter, and it should be a great night in California. I'm excited for this fight and looking forward to next month.
