Regis Prograis Opening to Alternative Fights Over Devin Haney
Unfortunately, it seems that undisputed lightweight champion Devin “The Dream” Haney (30-0, 15 KO’s) and WBC super lightweight champion Regis “Rougarou” Prograis (29-1, 24 KO’s) just can’t get it together. The two seemed to be on the verge of facing one another in a compelling fourth quarter rumble. Haney looks to make an exodus from his 135-pound stronghold and take a title in his first fight in the new division. Sadly, there appears to be too much static in the communication.
The situation has flummoxed Prograis to the point that he is contemplating his other options. As he explained to Fight Hype, Rougarou knows that the Haney prizefight is not a hill that he is required to live and die on.
“If they keep bullshitting like this, and I don’t know who’s bullshitting – I don’t know if it’s inside, if it’s Matchroom, I don’t know who’s bullshitting, but if it keeps getting dragged out like this, then whatever Devin, I’ll see you later! I’ll do my own thing, I’ll go do something else. I’m not about to just wait around.”
“I don’t need Devin. Like I said, me and [Adrien] Broner will be a bigger fight! Ah, you can say maybe, you can say maybe. Maybe for the culture and stuff like that, me and Broner could be a bigger fight. In boxing, obviously Devin is a bigger fight for boxing – undisputed at 135. The thing is, Devin is not a big name.”
A BIRD IN THE HAND…
Even out of his own mouth, Prograis acknowledges that The Dream is a quality fight and probably the biggest of all his options. That being said, there is a good chance we’ll get the thrilling fight that we’re hoping for. If not, then he’s likely off to pursue duels with his WBC mandatory challenger Sandor Martin or Adrien Broner.
Clearly, Martin makes sense due to this ranking. But as far as his name value is concerned, he undoubtedly will not pack the stands. To his credit, Martin does have a controversial split decision loss to current WBO super lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez. In the aftermath, many viewers believed the Spaniard should have gotten the nod. Even still, Sandor’s pure boxing style, largely devoid of real power, is not the kind that rivets casual fans.
Obviously the wildly colorful and unpredictable Adrien Broner has a much higher rating on the popularity Richter scale. At the same time, Broner just snapped a two-year inactive streak with a rather tepid performance against Bill Hutchinson. A Prograis versus Broner fight could theoretically be a big ticket seller, but a tune-up fight or two for Broner would almost definitely be needed. Fresh off his last outing, it’s hard to believe that the public is clamoring to see that version of AB back in the ring against an active and hungry Prograis. For the time being though, let’s see if Teams Prograis and Haney can shake out the static and get their fight announced!
