Opinions and Observations: Prograis-Haney

In the Two Things Can Be True Department, Devin Haney was dominant in shutting out Regis Prograis to win Prograis' 140-lb. belt, while Regis never looked like he was strategically or emotionally invested in winning the fight. Haney fired hard straight right hands and took away Prograis straight left by moving to his left side. He kept turning Prograis throughout the fight, forcing him to reset his feet. Ultimately, Prograis was completely defanged and offered little. From his initial game plan to his unwillingness to make adjustments, Prograis was poor in every facet. As Haney continued to connect with big right hands, including a picture-perfect lead right in the third that scored a knockdown, Regis insisted on remaining at mid-range, refusing to change the pattern of the fight. 

As early as the first round of the fight, I was skeptical of Prograis' approach. Instead of applying pressure or trying to make it a physical battle, Prograis operated in pure counterpuncher mode. Very quickly Haney established that he had the far faster hands and the athletic agility to get out of range for counters. 

And it's not as if Prograis doesn't know how to apply pressure. We have to go all the way back to...his last fight against Danielito Zorrilla, where Prograis essentially won that fight with pressure and front-foot boxing. Although Prograis wasn't particularly effective in the bout, it was his pressure and effective-enough aggression that led to him securing the victory. 

But Prograis never tried to apply pressure against Haney. In a curious move coming into the fight, Prograis demoted his longtime trainer Bobby Benton in favor of Julian Chua. Prograis and Benton had been through the wars together and for whatever deficiencies Prograis may have lacked as a fighter, Benton played a large role in Prograis becoming a two-time champion at junior welterweight. Yes, it's true that Prograis didn't look good last fight and perhaps that's why he believed that he needed to make a change, but clearly the combination of Chua as lead and Benton in support didn't work. They got their initial fight plan 100% wrong and no significant adjustments were made.

Haney landing one of many right hands
Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland

However, let's not throw this all on training team. At a certain point, a fighter needs to try to find a way to win. And after getting picked apart at range, if Prograis was truly interested in changing the outcome of the fight, then he would have tried whatever he could to turn the tide. But he didn't. He was compliant in his own demise, accepting getting hit from mid-range instead of going for broke for a knockout. 

A noted trainer said on X during the fight that Prograis made a silent agreement with Haney. This is a concept that's been discussed from time to time in the sport, where the losing fighter is willing to accept being beaten a certain way as long as he doesn't get knocked out. So, if the opponent isn't really trying to end things, then the fighter who is losing is content to accept the status quo of losing round after round. It's not fighting in survival mode, where a fighter does whatever he has to in order to stay in a fight; this is something else. It's an unspoken pact to limit aggression. And I agree with the trainer 100% that Prograis engaged in this behavior during the fight. 

In the latter rounds of the fight, Prograis seemed far more interested in making it to the final bell than further engaging Haney. By the eighth round, Haney had already had the fight won as long as nothing foolish happened. He had made a significant statement by outboxing AND outslugging Prograis. To him, he had already put in his work. Although he still won the final third of the fight, it's fair to say that he didn't go for broke to get the stoppage either. And I'm fine with that. He had already answered every question about this matchup that had been asked of him.  

Haney and his father/trainer Bill got everything right on Saturday. There are several different decisions that they could have made to beat Prograis, but they arrived at the right ones, the ones that led to victory and elevated Devin's status within the sport. They could have counterpunched, relying on Devin's faster hands. They could have tried to dance or stink their way to a decision. But what they concocted was the perfect approach to neutralizing Prograis and overcoming Devin's past weaknesses.

Haney dropping Prograis in the third
Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland

It's not a secret that Haney had faded at times in the second half of fights. The bouts against Lomachenko, Linares and Diaz were examples of this. There were three contributing factors to Haney's fades in my opinion, each of which was addressed by Bill and Devin on Saturday. Haney at times moved a little too much in fights, which contributed to his gas tank being a little lower in a fight's final third. He also wound up giving up ground to pressure fighters, allowing them to build up a head of steam, not to mention confidence. Haney had also begun to outgrow the lightweight division, which further depleted his stamina. 

So, against Prograis, Haney wasn't moving around the entire ring. He almost always was in ring center. He wasn't giving up a tremendous amount of ground whenever Prograis decided to let his hands go. Instead, he relied on his defensive technique and subtle lateral movement to remain out of harm's way. He didn't need to run a track meet to avoid shots. 

Even after establishing a large lead, Haney refused to give ground. He didn't languish on the ropes or use the outskirts of the ring to protect himself or catch a breather. Instead, he remained in the center of the ring and continued to follow his game plan that he had established at the fight's outset. 

Haney also looked much stronger at 140 pounds. His punches were the ones that were far more impactful. He hurt Prograis multiple times in the fight and busted his face up. In addition, at no point did Haney look like he was out of gas. He may have been on cruise control in the final few rounds of the fight, but he still did more than enough to win all of them. 

One further thing I liked from Haney was that he simplified his attack. He mostly relied on his straight right hand and jab-straight right hand combo to rule the day. He did mix in a couple of blistering right uppercuts and a few bracing left hooks to the body, but he wasn't out there trying to show off his entire arsenal every round. He stuck with the tools that were working. I think that earlier in his career Haney was so amped up to make a statement about what he could do offensively that he would try to unload every type of punch known to man without a coherent understanding of which punches to use or when to use them. But against Prograis he understood exactly which punches needed to be thrown and didn't deviate from what was working. To me, that showed a large leap of maturity in Haney. 

At 25, Haney is in his physical prime, but he also has vital experience against top opposition. Although he had always been a boxing savant, seemingly sparring with everyone as a young fighter and learning from several of the best trainers in the business, he needed to experience adversity, learn from it and figure out how to become a better fighter. 

He was rocked by Linares, but stayed on his feet to win. He fought as the away fighter in hostile environments in the two Kambosos fights. He yielded too much real estate in the ring to Diaz and Lomachenko. And maybe he has learned that he's much better in the center of the ring than he realized, or perhaps he's just more confident there now. He trusts his defense and chin in a way that he might not have a few years ago. He's now become a complete fighter. 

Haney displaying his new belt after the fight
Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland

At 34 Prograis now looks far removed from his best days. His athleticism and reflexes aren't what they were, but perhaps even more concerning, his willingness to do whatever it takes to win seems to have left him. Maybe there is a matchup or two where he would do well given the right opponent. He still has enough power to hurt people. But if his desire and ambition aren't there in the ring, then I'm not sure how much longer he has at the top reaches at 140. He didn't go down swinging on Saturday; he went away meekly. 

But meek would never be a word to describe Haney's ambition in the ring. His desire to improve, to become a great fighter is palpable. He wants to stamp his name among the greats of his era. And while he's already made good money, it's clear that money is not necessarily his primary motivating factor. He wants the big stage. He doesn't mind putting himself at risk. In fact, he seems to thrive on that. 

Haney has always had the boxing skills to be considered a top young fighter, but his intangibles are what may separate him from the other top talents in his age cohort. He wants the challenges. It's not about what promotional team he's on or getting every possible advantage before he steps in the ring. He welcomes the tough assignments because he's that confident in his abilities. And he has the intelligence and the humility to realize that he can always get better. 

It's been thrilling to watch Haney's development in the ring from top prospect to champion to becoming one of the elites in the sport. He has developed in the right way. Sure, he has pride, but he's also willing to get his hands dirty if it's required. He understands that greatness has to be earned in the ring. And he wants to earn. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook. 

Punch 2 the Face Podcast

In this week's Punch 2 the Face Radio, Brandon and I recapped a busy boxing weekend, including Jaron Ennis, Smith-Vlasov, Stanionis, Ancajas, Top Rank's heavyweight prospects, and Benn. We also previewed Andrade-Williams, Harrison-Perrella and Prograis-Redkach. Also, we talked about Triller's entrance into boxing and highlighted some big fights coming up for the spring. To listen to the show, click on the links below:

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Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.

Regis Prograis: No Tuneups

When we last left Regis Prograis, he had lost a razor-thin majority decision to Josh Taylor during the finals of the 140-lb. World Boxing Super Series tournament at London's O2 Arena. Scores for that fight were 114-114, 115-113 and 117-112. Prograis certainly had several strong sequences during the fight, landing a number of stinging left hands, but Taylor performed well on the inside and was a little more consistent round by round.

It was the type of fight where Prograis feels that if it had been in America, and he was the home fighter, perhaps the scorecards may have been more favorable to him. And while Prograis believes that he didn't lose the fight, he admits that it was close. Looking back on the match, he provided a candid assessment of his performance. Although he was the better fighter through stretches of the bout, he understands that he spent too much time fighting in the trenches, which was Taylor's preferred style. 

Photo Courtesy of Ian Walton

"I know when I was boxing him and running him into shots, I was having a lot of success," Prograis said. "When I was fighting on the inside, I had success. But sometimes I stayed in there a little too long. I think that’s the main thing. He was leaning on me a lot. He was bigger than me. I think I could have used my feet more...There are things I can do a little bit better.

"I was definitely prepared for the fight. If you look at the last three rounds, I came on the strongest in the championship rounds. I know I shouldn’t have fought him like that so much, but I really thought he was going to get tired. But credit to him, he definitely came in shape. Sometimes I made him miss and made some good defensive moves...I came on strong in the end, but he was in the fight."

After the tournament ended, Prograis told his team that he didn't want a tuneup or a marking time fight. Already 31 years old and not having had an opportunity to fight for a title until he was 30, it was imperative for him to keep momentum in his career. With titlists Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez tied up with upcoming mandatories, Prograis and his team sought out the best opponent possible, and they landed on former 140-lb. champion Maurice Hooker, who had lost his title to Ramirez in July of last year. 

Prograis (24-1, 20 KOs) is certainly familiar with Hooker (27-1-3, 18 KOs). He beat Hooker in the amateurs and they both spent most of their careers in the Texas boxing scene. They will meet on April 17th at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland (DAZN will televise). The bout, scheduled for 12 rounds, will be fought at a catchweight of 143 lbs., as Hooker and his team have contemplated moving up to welterweight. Prograis could have held out for an eliminator against another opponent to ensure an opportunity to fight one of the 140-lb. champs, but he thought that the high-profile matchup against Hooker (and the accompanying payday) would have a greater impact on his career. 

"Our attitude was we want to get the biggest fight that we can." said Lou DiBella, Prograis's promoter. "Rebuild [him] as quickly as you can because we didn’t think any less of him as a fighter after the Taylor fight. My attitude going into that fight was he was the best 140-lb. fighter in the world. And I still think at this moment he is the best 140-lb. fighter in the world, and he’s going to get a chance to start proving that again on April 17. The marching orders from him were give me the biggest fight that you can. And that’s what we did."

Taylor and Prograis with some inside combat
Photo Courtesy of the World Boxing Super Series

Prograis has been a boxing vagabond throughout his career and only in the last few years has he found stability. Originally from New Orleans, his family was displaced by Hurricane Katrina and he wound up moving to Houston. Taking boxing more seriously after arriving in Texas, he was an amateur in a strong scene that featured the Charlo brothers among others. Although he had been a solid amateur, when he decided to turn pro in 2012 at the age of 22, he received no interest from the larger promoters in boxing. 

So he hit the Southern boxing circuit, knocking out lesser fighters on small shows in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Although he had amassed a 10-0 record with eight knockouts, he still wasn't making much headway. Only two of his first ten opponents had a winning record, and the pay had been horrible. 

At that point, Jarvin John, Prograis's manager at the time, again tried to cultivate promotional interest in Prograis. Notable players such as Top Rank and Golden Boy turned him down. In a bold move, or perhaps one that could even be described as desperate, John contacted DiBella through Twitter with clips of his fighter. DiBella was intrigued. 

In 2015 DiBella placed Prograis on a card against rugged journeyman Hector Velazquez, who had been in the ring with top fighters such as Israel Vazquez, Rocky Juarez, Manny Pacquiao, Jorge Linares and many others. In a sense, the fight was an audition for Prograis. Regis wound up knocking Velazquez out in five rounds and DiBella instantly became a fan. 

"He [Prograis] wasn’t a known commodity among boxing people at all," said DiBella. "He was fighting in virtual obscurity...I said to myself after he beat Velazquez that this guy doesn’t need to be babied. He had athletic ability and an ease of movement in the ring. I’ve promoted a lot of guys throughout my career who were originals; you know, they didn’t fight like anyone else. They had their own style and their own way of fighting, but were super talented. And this kid screamed 'athlete' to me... 

"What was obvious about him in addition to the athleticism was the mean streak. Regis is a really interesting, intelligent, evolved, well-read guy, a family man – the whole thing. But the mean streak was obvious from the first second I saw him in the ring."

Quickly DiBella was able to get ShoBox's Executive Producer Gordon Hall interested in Prograis. Soon Prograis became a staple of that series, stopping undefeated prospects such as Abel Ramos and Joel Diaz Jr. Finally, a buzz was starting to build. 

Prior to entering the World Boxing Super Series, Prograis was installed as the number-one contender to Jose Ramirez. For whatever reason, Ramirez and his team weren't rushing to make that fight. Top Rank (Ramirez's promoter) even negotiated a deal whereby Prograis could headline his own card on an ESPN platform while he waited for the Ramirez fight. 

But Prograis and his team grew tired of waiting. After a career of fighting for scraps, Prograis wanted to prove himself against the best and make some money. There were two belts up for grabs in the tournament and the opportunity to face world-level opposition. Prograis wound up relinquishing his shot at Ramirez to enter the tournament. 

He won a wide decision over former lightweight titlist Terry Flanagan in the first round of the tournament and then turned in perhaps the best performance of his career in the semifinals, knocking out titlist Kiryl Relikh in the sixth round and winning his first world title belt. 

Prograis landing on Relikh during their title fight
Photo Courtesy of the World Boxing Super Series

Despite the ups and downs of the tournament, which included delays from the organizers and a longer time commitment than initially planned, Prograis looks back on the World Boxing Super Series fondly: 

"For me they always came through," he said. "Of course, it took a little longer than expected. I think when we initially signed it was supposed to be over in less than a year, nine or ten months. I think it lasted a little over a year. For me, it was the right thing to do. When I entered the tournament, I was the number one contender for the WBC belt, but I didn’t think that Ramirez was going to fight me at that time. There were two belts inside the tournament and I felt like I could pick up those belts. For me it was the best fighting the best at 140. I wanted to fight the best and not pick and choose my opponent."

Prograis brims with confidence when talking about the next phase of his career. He wants to win belts at 140, 147 and even 154 pounds. Now represented by Churchill Management, two partners of which are actor Mark Wahlberg and actor/director Peter Berg, Prograis believes that he is being looked after properly. He recently relocated to Los Angeles and has even appeared in two movies, one of which, "Spenser Confidential," directed by Berg and starring Wahlberg, hits Netflix this month. 

And while he's enjoying his time in Southern California, his eyes are focused on Maurice Hooker. He knows that Hooker represents his opportunity to get back into the limelight. 

"He’s a good fighter," Prograis said. "That’s why I wanted to fight him. He’s the next best possible opponent. I want to fight Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez, but they are occupied right now, so the next best is Hooker. If you look at my record, all I’ve been fighting are world champions, former world champions or undefeated fighters. And Hooker fits the bill. He’s a top-level opponent and I’m glad we got this deal done."

For Prograis, the match is a one-fight deal with DAZN. Prograis and his team want to keep their options open for future opponents. His team continues to have conversations with DAZN, Showtime and ESPN about longer-term commitments, but Prograis knows that he has to keep winning to leverage the best possible deal for his career. 

Prograis likes to set goals and visualize his future. He has a clear sense of what he wants the rest of his career to look like. He believes that he can beat Hooker, Taylor and Ramirez. And with the improvements that he's implementing in the gym with trainer Bobby Benton, he feels that many title belts will soon be his. April 17th will be his first chance to turn his grand plans into a reality. Not dismayed by his recent defeat, Prograis's outlook is optimistic. He knows how good he can be. He just wants another opportunity to prove it against the best.

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 
Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.
snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.   

Opinions and Observations: Prograis-Taylor

Regis Prograis entered Saturday's junior welterweight unification fight with a plan. He wanted to beat Josh Taylor at Taylor's own game, breaking him down on the inside, and Taylor was more than happy to oblige; this was his preferred style after all. Taylor must have been smiling at his good fortune when he realized that he didn't need to exert energy trying to find and track down Prograis in the ring. Instead he could focus on winning a type of fight in which he had excelled.  

The first seven rounds of Saturday's match were mostly contested in close quarters with lots of leather traded. And at that moment it was clear that Taylor was ahead, having won anywhere from four to six of the frames. Even more importantly, he was imposing himself on the smaller Prograis. He was more adept at the craft of inside fighting. He better understood its secrets and opportunities. Taylor expertly utilized his forearms and wrists to create space to land his shots and move away from danger. Every shot was short and purposeful. Subtle sidesteps created angles where he could land and Prograis could not. There is an art to inside fighting and throughout Saturday's fight Taylor demonstrated that he was one of its masters while Prograis was a precocious student – highly talented, but still a student.  

Photo Courtesy of Mark Robinson

In the eighth round Prograis changed his tactics and tried to win from the outside. He scored with some strafing lead left hands and jabbed effectively. After two rounds where Taylor was able to close the distance and land some thunderous right hooks and straight left hands, Prograis had perhaps his best moments of the fight in the 11th, where he was able to box effectively and mix in some punishing power shots. Prograis also competed well in the closing 12th frame. 

Ultimately Taylor won by a majority decision, 117-112, 115-113 and 114-114 (I had it for Taylor 116-112). It was certainly a competitive fight, but from my vantage point Taylor was more consistent throughout the match and was able to outwork Prograis in several close rounds, especially those in close quarters during the first half of the bout. 

After 12 tough rounds I don't believe that there was much difference in skill or talent between Prograis and Taylor. However, one fighter knew exactly who he was in the ring and how he needed to win the fight, while the other seemed less certain. In my estimation Prograis-Taylor was decided by strategy, tactics and Ring IQ, not always the sexiest factors, but they can certainly be the difference between winning and losing. 

Photo Courtesy of Mark Robinson

In handicapping Prograis-Taylor, I was concerned with Prograis's lack of competitive bouts throughout his development. Now Prograis and his team are not all to blame for this. A major reason why Prograis had rarely been tested was his supreme talent; he was blowing through reasonable opponents. 

Prior to Saturday Taylor had already been through wars with Ivan Baranchyk and Viktor Postol. He had been rocked with big shots, he had faced duress and he had demonstrated strong powers of recuperation. Perhaps one could look at those factors and determine that Taylor was potentially more vulnerable, but I viewed his history as a positive. Taylor, and importantly lead trainer Shane McGuigan, knew exactly what they needed to do and how they had to fight in order to beat good opponents. 

Prograis and lead trainer Bobby Benton just hadn't had the reps against top competition. That's certainly not a disqualifying factor in winning a big fight, but it was something worth noting. Perhaps if Prograis and Benton had just a little bit more big-fight experience maybe they would have made adjustments faster on Saturday. Taking it a step further, with more tough rounds prior to Taylor they might have learned more about what Prograis needed to do to beat top competition. 

A problem with fighters that have such broad skill sets is knowing when and where to use certain tactics. This has been a recurring criticism that I've had with Daniel Jacobs throughout his career. Jacobs has all the skill in the world and can seemingly fight in any style; yet there doesn't seem to be a coherent strategy throughout a fight and he doesn't realize fast enough what's working and what should be scrapped. 

Now Prograis did come into Saturday's match with a plan, but there needed to be a quicker adjustment to taking the fight to the outside. And maybe, just maybe, Prograis and Benton got their tactics wrong from the jump. To me they seemed to underestimate Taylor's effectiveness on the inside. I certainly think that they were surprised by his power.  

Photo Courtesy of Mark Robinson

Prograis had rarely struggled coming into Saturday's fight. He had won fights on the inside and from distance. He had success leading and countering. He could use the ring or slug it out in the pocket. Perhaps Prograis and Benton thought that they were a little bulletproof in the ring, that the opponent didn't necessarily matter, that Regis was just on another level. He had never really been vulnerable prior to Saturday; why would Taylor be any different?   

Ultimately Saturday's fight will be a great learning experience for Prograis and Benton. They certainly didn't embarrass themselves and gave boxing fans a hell of a show. However, the margin between winning and losing can be so thin. Getting the fight plan wrong can make all the difference. Prograis had better hand and foot speed. I'm not exactly sure why they didn't utilize their natural advantages in this fight. 

However, all is not lost. They will have additional opportunities. Prograis will make for a great fight against any of the top guys at 140, and he could certainly compete one division north at welterweight. He has a wonderful skill set and presents a series of problems for opponents. At 30, in the absolute prime of his career, and not tied to a particular network or boxing platform, he could have several big fights in the next few years. Here's hoping that he will learn from Saturday's bout and realize that the other guy gets paid too. 

Photo Courtesy of Mark Robinson

As for Josh Taylor, he has long been a favorite of mine in the ring. Far more than the sum of his parts, Taylor has off-the-chart intangibles that make up his for pedestrian hand speed, foot speed and athleticism. For starters he has a fantastic Ring IQ. Unlike so many fighters, he has an innate understanding of which punches work at a given distance, and he can execute on that knowledge. Sure, Prograis might throw a prettier hook, and it might even be a harder punch in a vacuum, but Taylor can get his there first because it is perfectly thrown and placed. He has every punch in his arsenal and uses them properly. He's not trying to throw lead uppercuts from five feet away or jabbing from too close. In addition, Taylor is one of the few fighters who can cut off the ring effectively. His footwork is fluid, purposeful and he is always in position to throw.  

All of the above is important, but Taylor also has that intestinal fortitude to persevere. I've seen him get absolutely rocked by huge shots against Baranchyk and Prograis. His right eye by the end of the fight on Saturday made him look like an alien – there was just a hole where it was supposed to be. But Taylor kept pressing forward, refusing to let his physical deterioration become a hindrance in the fight. Perhaps most importantly Taylor doesn't beat himself. He's smart, both intellectually and in the ring. He doesn't make many mistakes. Sure, he's not the fastest guy in the sport and he can be hit, but he forces his opponents to earn everything. 

One area of concern for Taylor is his lack of true knockout power. As he continues to face tough competition he's not going to have many easy fights. His opponents are often going to have speed and/or power advantages and he will need to grind out victories by being smarter, sharper and better prepared. That's a tough way to earn a living at the highest level of the sport. Only 28 and with just 16 professional fights, it's likely that he will have a relatively short run. The body just can't sustain itself through that many wars. But that's in the future, and for now let's just enjoy yesterday and today. 

Josh Taylor possesses a wealth of information about the sport that most fighters, even excellent ones, will never acquire. Right now he's in the perfect sweet spot where his mind and body are in sync. He can see the openings and can physically exploit them. While his time at the summit could be short, for now it's certainly a beautiful view at the top of the mountain. He's earned his position at this impressive, elevated peak. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.
snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.