Josh Taylor was able to watch his opponent sweat out the scale results this time around.
The World Boxing Super Series finale between Scotland's Taylor and New Orleans' Regis Prograis charges full steam ahead after both successfully made weight for their 140-pound title unification bout, which airs live Saturday evening on DAZN in the United States and Sky Sports Box Office in the United Kingdom from The O2 in London, England.
Prograis had to strip down to his birthday suit in order to hit the mark on his second attempt, officially registering at 139.9 pounds. Taylor (15-0, 12KOs) made weight on the first try, checking in at a lean and ripped 139.6 pounds.
"Everything is good, I'm going to beat the sh*t out of him tomorrow," Prograis told Sky Sports. "We were cursing each other, I was saying I was going to stop him, he was saying he was going to stop me.
"It's going to be a bloody fight I'm sure, somebody's throwing that towel in because I'm going to stop him guaranteed."
It was a refreshing change of pace from the last time Taylor had to weigh in for a fight, when he was initially over the mark for his May semifinal clash with Ivan Baranchyk in Glasgow, Scotland. Confusion ensued in a failed verbal effort to convert from kilograms to pounds, leaving him 0.2 pounds over the divisional limit.
The matter was settled, with Taylor going on to outpoint the previously unbeaten Baranchyk to win his portion of the junior welterweight title. The win set up Saturday's final with Progais (24-0, 20KOs), who three weeks prior had his way with Kiryl Relikh in becoming an unbeaten titlist this past April in Lafayette, Louisiana.
A major road block developed over the summer, with Prograis threatening to withdraw from the bout and sue the tournament organizers Comosa AG over breach of contract relating to promised payments being deposited in advance into an escrow account. All legal issues were eventually resolved, clearing the way for what has been hailed as a true 50/50 matchup by boxing experts.
Prograis remains the slight betting favorite, although late money has come in on Taylor, an expected trend with the fight taking place in the U.K.
The chief support pits countryman Derek Chisora and David Price in an intriguing heavyweight battle that was put together on short notice. London's Chisora (31-9, 22KOs)—who weighed in at 260.25 pounds—was originally due to face former titlist Joseph Parker, who withdrew after claiming to have fallen ill due to a suggested spider bite. In his place came Liverpool's Price (25-6, 20KOs), a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist who tipped the scales at 264.25 for a fight he accepted on less than a month's notice.
Both boxers were heavier than their last ring appearances, when they scored separate stoppage wins this past July. Chisora weighed 257 pounds for his two-round annihilation of Poland's Artur Szpilka on the same July card at this very venue which housed a 257-pound version of the 6'8" Price forcing David Allen into submission after 10 rounds.
Also on the show:
Former three-division titlist Ricky Burns (43-7-1, 16KOs) weighed 134.5 pounds—lightest weight in more than two years for the 36-year old Scot—for his 12-round lightweight clash versus Wales' Lee Selby, a former featherweight titlist who weighed 134.25 pounds for his second bout in the 135-pound division;
Perennial Top-10 cruiserweight contender Yves Ngabu (20-0, 14KOs) weighed 199.5 pounds for his first career fight outside of his native Belgium, while locally based Lawerence Okolie (13-0, 10KOs)—a 2016 Olympian—weighed 199.25 pounds for their scheduled 12-round European (EBU) cruiserweight title fight.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
