There wasn’t much going on in the world of Regis Prograis on September 23rd. So, with his schedule clear, the current WBC super lightweight champ decided that he wanted to watch some good ole boxing. Luckily for him, Richardson Hitchins just so happened to be fighting on that night. 

The former Olympian went from fighting no-hopers to a former title challenger in Jose Zepeda. One year prior, Zepeda gave Prograis all he could handle before eventually coming up short via 11th-round stoppage. Hitchins wanted to one-up his man. He wasn’t sure how he wanted to do it, but he knew he wanted to give a better performance. Mission accomplished. 

For 36 consecutive minutes, Zepeda’s normally effective offense was innocuous. Watching at home felt as though it was on a perpetual loop. Zepeda would lunge with a right hand, Hitchins would take a small step back, then land the same one-two over and over again. When things got dicey, Hitchins would grab and hold until the referee stepped in. He then got back to his same routine. 

As Prograis continued to watch, he began nodding off as drool dripped across his cheek. There’s no doubt that Hitchins did more than enough to win but in terms of excitement, the current titleholder believes Zepeda vs. Hitchins was severely lacking in that department. 

“That was a snooze fest,” Prograis told Cigar Talk. “He fought Zepeda, he outboxed him 12 rounds. I don’t even think I gave Zepeda a round. He definitely beat him but it was boring.” 

Regardless of what Prograis believes, Hitchins is breathing down his neck. Still, the 34-year-old has Devin Haney to deal with. 

On December 9th, at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Prograis will attempt to get his man out of the way in the main event on the night. 

Considering his age and the amount of work he’s put in over the years, Prograis simply isn’t turned on by the idea of facing Hitchins. From his point of view, the highly skilled contender doesn't bring enough monetary value or name power to entice Prograis to fight him. 

“Either belts or big fights. I'm in my stage where I don’t want prospects coming up. You gotta do work. I got it out the mud. You have to earn your place.”