Boxing trainer Bobby Benton and cutman Aaron Navarro cornered Tyler Howard at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, California, as Howard lost a unanimous decision to undefeated Eric Priest, and then promptly caught a red-eye flight home. They did so in order to get back to Main St Boxing and watch Regis Prograis spar the following day.
“We caught a red-eye home,” Benton said. “We landed at 6am and we went straight to the gym. Regis came in to spar first thing.”
Prograis, 36, originally from New Orleans, but now living in Houston, is in the heart of his training camp and was sparring the next morning ahead of his bout with Oscar Duarte on February 15 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Prograis is coming off back-to-back losses to Jack Catterall and Devin Haney. After Prograis’ defeat to Haney, he voiced his intention to become a three-time title holder. Duarte, the 29-year-old from Chihuahua, Mexico, is on a two-fight win streak since being knocked out by Ryan Garcia in December 2023. Duarte, 28-2-1 (22 KOs), after his loss to Garcia switched trainers and linked up with Robert Garcia, one of the most well-respected coaches in the sport.
“Regis is doing great,” Navarro said. “He's working like a hungry fighter. We are trying to slow him down a little bit. That's the way he's working in there right now.”
The hard work Prograis is putting in is also modeled by his coaches. A snowstorm hit Houston the week of Howard’s fight, both Navarro and Benton made a Herculean effort to make it to the fight. Fittingly, they cornered Howard, whose moniker is “Hercules.” They promptly returned to work with Prograis, 29-3 (24 KOs). It is just an old-school effort to give each fighter as much attention as possible.
“We're just working hard as usual,” Benton said of Prograis-Duarte. “We know we're in a tough fight and we're going to bring it."
