If Regis Prograis isn't already the best junior welterweight boxer in the world, he's at least the most entertaining.
Prograis (22-0, 19 KOs) continued his ferocious march to the top of the division on Saturday with a dominant eight-round stoppage of Juan Jose Velasco in front of his hometown fans at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. Prograis captured the interim WBC 140-pound title and secured a spot in the World Boxing Super Series junior welterweight tournament, which begins in September.
Nicknamed "Rougarou" after the mythical Cajun creature, the 29-year-old Prograis entered the ring in his werewolf mask and proceeded to put the scare into his opponent by ravaging the body. Prograis went on to score a trio of knockdowns via body shots until Velasco's corner mercifully called for a stoppage that was already long overdue.
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Like a typical Prograis fight, it was contested at close range with the southpaw absorbing punches in order to creep closer and begin his attack. Prograis was so aggressive, in fact, that 131 of the 155 punches he landed were power shots, according to CompuBox.
"I knew I could push him, I know what I can do," Prograis said. "I just wanted to show the world what I can do. People say I can't go 12 rounds. Maybe not but I can go eight or nine rounds if I need to. I already know what I can do. I can be in a tough fight and I can push through it.
"Thanks everybody in New Orleans, we the best city in the world. My goal was to bring big-time boxing back to New Orleans."
Velasco (20-1, 12 KOs), a native of Argentina, made a good showing for himself despite coming in as a largely unknown underdog. But despite his courage and toughness, he was systematically broken down by Prograis, which led to a frustrating finishing sequence for any viewer who was looking out for Velasco's well-being.
After he was dropped for the second time in Round 7, Velasco told his trainer Herman Caicedo between rounds that he didn't want to fight anymore. But Caicedo, whose words were translated from Spanish by ESPN's Bernardo Osuna, told his fighter, "What do you mean you don't want to go on? Give me one more round! Don't run from him."
The weary Velasco was dropped for the third time on a body shot in Round 8 and spit out his mouthpiece. Upon reaching his feet, he shook his head at referee Laurence Cole and walked away. Cole, who already has an infamous reputation thanks to multiple controversies, never picked up on Velasco signaling in multiple ways that he was done.
Cole walked Velasco to the corner, had Caicedo rinse out the fallen mouthpiece, and restarted the fight even though it appeared as if Cole had reached a 10 count as Velasco initially stood up. Prograis and Velasco then continued to brawl until Caicedo finally jumped on the apron but not until after he and Cole allowed the fighter to take even more unnecessary punishment.
"This dude [Velascp] came in unknown and he's going to go down in the world to be known," Prograis said. "I'm not going to lie, he was one of my toughest fights. I dropped him and kept dropping him and he kept getting back up. He was super tough and actually really strong, but I pushed through. I couldn't lose in front of my hometown."
Prograis joins the140-pound field in the WBSS which includes Kiryl Relikh (22-2, 19 KOs), Eduard Troyanovsky (27-1, 24 KOs), Ivan Baranchyk (18-0, 11 KOs), Anthony Vigit (21-0-1, 7 KOs), Josh Taylor (13-0, 11 KOs) and two more to be named.
"I already have plans with the World Boxing Super Series but if an opportunity presents itself, maybe the [Manny] Pacquiao fight," Prograis said. "Pacquiao said he wants to come down to 140 and I would love that fight. If [Vasiliy] Lomachenko wants to come up to 140, I would take that fight also.
"One day me and Jose Ramirez will probably fight. That's definitely a fight that I want right now but we have different paths. I want to go into the WBSS and hopefully pick up two belts."
