Tyrone McKenna Believes He Has the Tools to Breakdown Regis Prograis
On March 19, “The Mighty Celt” Tyrone McKenna (22-2-1, 6 KOs) faces what’s largely considered his toughest test in ex-WBA junior welterweight champ Regis Prograis (26-1, 22 KOs) at the Duty-Free Tennis Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Ranked eleventh by the WBO at 140 pounds, most pundits consider McKenna a significant underdog against Prograis who ranks fifth with the WBO at 140 pounds. But speaking to Irish news source the Belfast Telegraph, McKenna shakes his head at the doubters and promises to prove them wrong.
READY TO SILENCE THE DOUBTERS
“I’ve seen there are a lot of people doubting me, saying I don’t belong in the same ring as Prograis, and I really don’t know where they’re getting that from. I’ve been in with world-class fighters and only lost narrowly and I’m very confident about winning this fight.”
The world-class fighter McKenna is referring to is Jack Catterall, who is coming off a controversial loss to current undisputed junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor on February 26. Catterall defeated McKenna by unanimous decision in June of 2018. To prepare for the upcoming contest with Prograis, McKenna sparred with Catterall and believes that experience serves as proof he’s at the top level in the division.
NOTICING A WEAKNESS
Another thing McKenna has done is study tape of Prograis’s lone defeat as a pro, a June 2019 majority decision defeat at the hands of Taylor in the finals of the WBSS junior welterweight tournament. For the 32-year-old from Belfast, Northern Ireland, he said that fight gave him a window into what he must do to win.
“The other week I watched the fight between Josh Taylor and Prograis, and I saw how Taylor took him out of his comfort zone with his pressure. Taylor fought him the way I like to fight — high intensity, throwing lots of punches — and you could see that Prograis didn’t like it. He likes to box at his own pace, picking one or two shots, and I’m not going to let him do that.”
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Detailing that he’s in the best shape of his life, McKenna feels more than ready to put on the fight of his life. With Taylor expected to move up to welterweight, the winner of Prograis-McKenna moves in line to fight for the soon vacant WBO junior welterweight strap.
Does McKenna have the style and will to unsettle the hard-hitting Prograis? Does he have what it takes to score the upset? We will all find out on March 19 in Dubai.
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By: Michael Wilson Jr.
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