Prograis Places Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez on the Hitlist
On December 9, WBC super lightweight champion Regis “Rougarou” Prograis (29-1, 24 KO’s) will face unified lightweight champion Devin Haney. Despite the fight having been in the works for a while, it was formally announced rather recently. While there is no doubt that Prograis is pumped for the match, it’s hard for him to pretend like no one else in the division exists. And as he ponders over the other available contestants, as he told EsNews, Prograis can really see himself mixing it up with “King” Ryan Garcia (23-1, 19 KO’s) or Teofimo “The Takeover” Lopez (19-1, 13 KO’s).
“Listen, I was just saying, it’s either like a Ryan or Teo. Obviously I don’t want to look past the Devin situation but after that, if I had my choice, it’d be like Ryan or Teo. Ryan for the money, Teo for legacy. Teo got the belt, they got him at #1 now so, for me, I want that spot! I’ve had that spot and I want that number one spot back as being number one at 140.”
THE BAG OR THE BEAR?
As Prograis already alluded to, he must first get through Haney, which is no foregone conclusion. Provided that he does, either Lopez or Garcia would make for great duels. Garcia has yet to hop back into the win column since suffering his first professional loss to Gervonta Davis. Luckily for him however, King Ryan’s tremendous following has kept him buoyed at the level of a very attractive opponent option for all those in the upper echelons of the division.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Lopez is coming off a great win over Josh Taylor which slapped the WBO 140-pound title around his waist. Aside from his hardware, The Takeover is also a very big personality in the sport who totes awe-inspiring physical gifts in the ring. So given their talent, heavy hands and mutual trash talking abilities, the fight and pre-fight build-up between Prograis and Lopez would be quite entertaining and, no doubt, memorable.
Yet, as always, before we get too lost in our imaginations and fantasy fights, let’s allow Prograis the chance to step in the ring with the very real Devin Haney. There is little doubt that Rougarou will have the power advantage in this duel, but if he can’t hit his foe then that strength will become much ado about nothing. So let’s see what takes place on December 9!
