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The fight between Regis Prograis and Oscar Duarte is underway on February 15th in Anaheim, California. Former two-time light heavyweight champion Prograis (29-3-, 24 KOs) is looking to snap a two-game losing streak to turn things around.
Prograis is taking a risk against powerful striker Duarte, 28, but has little choice. He is too old to slowly make his way back to the top of the light heavyweight rankings. He has to beat the best possible fighters available to him to get another chance.
Twilight years
Regis is coming off a 12-round unanimous decision loss to Jack Catterall on October 26 in Manchester, England.
Caterall isn’t known for being a big puncher, but he dropped Prograis twice in the ninth round, and after that he seemed hesitant to attack in the championship rounds. The cores were 116-1-0, 117-108 and 116-109.
Prior to that fight, Prograis lost to Devin Haynie via 12-round decision on December 9, 2023, and was knocked down in the third round. It seems that Regis’s hit resistance isn’t what it used to be.
Lance Pugmire, @pugboking, is reporting at the Prograis-Duarte fight on February 15. That’s a big deal for Regis, who has gone from being viewed as the No. 1 guy at 140 to being seen as too much by many fans.
This is an important fight for Prograis, 35, because he cannot afford to keep losing fights like he has been lately. He wants to become a three-time world champion at 140, but that doesn’t look good with the way he keeps getting beat.
The Golden Boy-promoted Duarte (28-2-1, 22 KOs) has looked impressive recently, defeating Botyrjon Ahmedov and Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz in back-to-back fights since an eighth-round knockout of Ryan Garcia in December 2023.
Unless Prograis can make dramatic improvements before February 15th, he will lose to Duarte and will likely be stopped if he can’t handle the Mexican striker’s power.
