Regis Prograis is giving Devin Haney his due respect ahead of their showdown Saturday at the Chase Center in San Francisco on DAZN PPV.

Although the former undisputed lightweight champion Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) is the career-long 135 pounder moving up to face the WBC junior welterweight champion, Prograis (29-1, 24 KOs) believes he’ll have some physical disadvantages. 

“He's big. But size doesn't win fights. I don't worry about that. Yeah, he has a little size but I don't care about that,” Prograis told BoxingScene.com and other media in an interview.

“I expect him to be bigger and stronger. I'd rather be surprised and say he's not as tough or hit as hard as I thought he would. In my mind I'm going in there thinking he is going to be big and he is going to be strong. That's what I am training for -- a bigger and stronger Haney.”

Both boxers are listed at 5 feet 8 inches tall but Haney has a four-inch reach advantage. During their initial press conference in October announcing the fight, Haney appeared to look thicker and a hair taller than Prograis during their face off.

Prograis tossed the tale of the tape aside when further assessing the fight ahead. 

“The way I have been sparring and training, I feel like I'm going to do everything better,” he said. “I feel like my jab will be better. I obviously have more power. My head movement, feet, and defense is going to be better. I feel like I am going to beat him on every level. There is going to be nothing that he can do. I'm not being cocky or anything like that, I am just confident. I'm closing all of my holes, and I know I had a lot of holes. I got to the top just by fighting. I started boxing late. But now I'm boxing.” 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.