THE final month of the year is shaping up to be a strong one with another fascinating battle announced by Matchroom.
We already knew that on December 16 Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and Sunny Edwards will attempt to unify the flyweight division. Yet one week earlier boxing fans will be able to watch Devin Haney, 30-0 (15), move from up lightweight to make his debut at super-lightweight, it was announced today (September 26).
Standing in his way of world title success at a second weight on December 9 is Regis Prograis, 29-1 (24), whom Haney will fight at the Chase Centre in San Francisco. On the line will be the WBC belt, which Prograis will be defending for a second time. The 34-year-old’s first defence came in June against Danielito Zorrilla, a fight remembered as much for the disappointing performance from the champion as anything else. With his hand raised, it wouldn’t be long before he was called out by Haney, who last fought in May when he defended his undisputed lightweight championship against Vasyl Lomachenko.
For Haney, a fight at the Chase Centre will mark a return home for the ‘Frisco born 24-year-old.
“The energy in the building is going to be electric,” he said in a press release to officially announce the fight.
“I haven’t fought at home since I was an amateur, so I’m looking for my city to show up and show out.
“It’s never personal. This is a business at the end of the day. But when we get in the ring, we don’t have respect for each other.”
Regis Prograis (Al Bello/Getty Images for Triller)
Prograis, who has just one defeat on his record (against Josh Taylor in 2019), has been competing at 10-stone for a long time and holds wins over names that have either retired or now seen better days. The division is going through something of a transition with Haney, Teofimo Lopez and Ryan Garcia adding some much-needed star power.
“Devin has done well at 135lbs but I’m the best in the world at 140lbs and I will prove that once again,” Prograis said.
“I will not only beat him up, I will hurt this kid. It’s nothing he can do to stop me from dominating. It’s going to be a massacre.”
That darker tone was met by Haney in Matchroom’s promotional video for the fight, titled “Talk Ends”, which captured him saying, “I gotta step on you, I gotta crush you. Just another night for me, another victim, another body. I’m gonna f**kyou up.”
Meanwhile, lines from Prograis included: “I keep stressing this over and over I’m going to hurt you. You’re a little boy to me. All your people, they gonna see you get knocked out. F**k boxing, this is gonna be a massacre.”
Prograis vs. Haney will be shown on DAZN worldwide except North America where customers will have to purchase the event on pay-per-view.