Regis Prograis has easily beaten two former world champions en route to the championship match of the World Boxing Super Series’ 140-pound tournament.
An unfazed Josh Taylor promised Prograis’ dominant run will end October 26 at O2 Arena in London. Scotland’s Taylor even thinks he can knock out Prograis, who’s considered the stronger puncher in their 12-round title unification fight.
“I’m fully confident in the fight,” Taylor said during a press conference Monday in London. “I think I’m better than him, stronger than him, I’m quicker than him. You know, I punch just as hard as him. So yeah, I think I can beat him in every department. If he comes to come try and walk me down, I believe I’ll walk him into a shot and get him out of there. If not, I can out-box him for the full 12 rounds. So, I’m fully confident that I can win this fight either way it goes.”
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Odds-makers list Prograis as slightly less than a 2-1 favorite over Taylor in advance of this intriguing battle between southpaws.
The 28-year-old Taylor (15-0, 12 KOs) has stopped American Ryan Martin (22-1, 12 KOs) in the seventh round and beat Russia’s Ivan Baranchyk (19-1, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to reach the WBSS 140-pound final. He won the IBF junior welterweight title from Baranchyk.
The 30-year-old Prograis (24-0, 20 KOs) defeated England’s Terry Flanagan (34-2, 14 KOs), a former WBO lightweight champ, by unanimous decision and Belarus’ Kiryl Relikh (23-3, 19 KOs) by sixth-round TKO to advance to the final. The New Orleans native took the WBA super lightweight title from Relikh.
“I believe myself and Regis are one and two in the division,” Taylor said. “I believe, yeah, a hundred percent, I think we’re the best in the division. And we are the two guys to beat. And we’re gonna prove it October 26th. I feel like this is my time to shine, and I just feel like I can’t see him beating me at all. So yeah, I’m super-confident, super-confident.”
The battle between the top-seeded Prograis and Taylor, who’s seeded second, will headline a Sky Sports Box Office pay-per-view event in the United Kingdom. DAZN will stream it live in the United States.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
