Regis Prograis has no doubt in his mind that he is the toughest challenge for Devin Haney in the 140-pound class.

He is also confident that he represents the biggest payday for the former 135-pound undisputed champion at the present moment.

Prograis, the two-time junior welterweight titlist from New Orleans, will be defending his WBC 140-pound title on Dec. 9 at Chase Center in San Francisco against Haney in what will be Haney’s debut in the division. It will also be the first time Haney has fought in his hometown as a professional; Haney lives and trains in Las Vegas.

“With Devin being undisputed at ’35, I think he had a lot of options,” Prograis told Boxing News. “You know, he had all the belts and when you have all the belts, you have a lot of different options with what you can do. And, obviously, he wanted the biggest fight with the biggest amount of money, and I think that was with me. I think the biggest amount of money was coming to fight me.”

Haney vs. Prograis is promoted by Eddie Hearn of Matchroom, who signed Prograis to a multi-bout deal earlier this year. Haney, who is coming off a multi-bout stint with Top Rank, has had a previous working relationship with Hearn. The fight will be distributed on DAZN Pay-Per-View.

The southpaw Prograis (29-1, 24 KOs) indicated that negotiations with Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) took longer than he expected and that there were complications regarding the date for the fight. But Prograis noted that he started his training camp well before the fight was a done deal, essentially right after his last fight, in the summer, against Danielito Zorrilla.

“Since I heard his name, I started training,” Prograis said.

Feeling underappreciated, Prograis expects a win over Haney to legitimize him in the eyes of his doubters.

“I’m loving it,” Prograis said. “I feel like this is what I really deserve, that’s all. The main thing I became a champion, lost it, became a two-time champion three years later, and I still didn’t get the recognition that I deserve but I feel like this fight here is really going to put me on the map and get me the recognition that I deserve. I love everything about it.”  

Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.