Will Regis Prograis pull out of the World Boxing Super Series?
The World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. A number of missed payments, bonuses, and broken promises have caused fighters to rethink their involvement in the tournaments.
The most recent is Regis Prograis, one of the tournament favorites at junior welterweight. Reports are coming he is currently reconsidering his participation.
Prograis is expected to meet WBA “regular” champion Kiryl Relikh in the semi-finals. That would be a welcomed fight to all boxing fans. However, when speaking with industry sources this week, Prograis’ manager Sam Katkovski voiced major concerns regarding his fighter.
First, he is still owed part of his purse from the opening round against Terry Flanagan. Then, there is the effect the significant delays will have on his career.
According to Katkovski, the semifinals were supposed to take place in February and the entire tournament was only scheduled to be a year long. He did, however, say that Prograis does not want to withdraw from the tournament.
Although, they would rather the money be put into an escrow account prior to the fight so they can assure everyone is being paid. If these concerns aren’t addressed, it’s likely the #1 seed will take advantage of other opportunities.
Problems Abound
The slugger from Baton Rouge isn’t the only one. Ivan Baranchyk, also in the tournament, has voiced concerns over the same issues. Baranchyk, who won a vacant title over Anthony Yigit in the opening round, announced he would not be participating in the remainder of the tournament last week due to similar issues.
Fast-forward 24 hours later and the WBSS announced that he would be fighting Josh Taylor in a semi-final bout May 18 in Glasgow, Scotland. This lead fans to believe the issues must have been resolved. Apparently, that isn’t the case. The two sides have communicated, but as of this report, nothing is officially resolved.
Comosa AG, the company that owns the WBSS, recently had a spokesperson comment on how strong their contracts are, and that any failure in meeting them will be met with consequences. This is all very disappointing. The first season of the WBSS had the boxing world on its toes and begging for more.
The announcement of the second season was met with anticipation, but it’s been rough since then. Let’s all hope they can get this worked out and the tournament can move on as expected.
Make sure to stay tuned to 3kingsboxing as more news comes in about the future of the WBSS.
By: Tanner Gill
