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The Avila Perspective Chap. 19: Regis Prograis, Middleweights and More
Unique best describes the city of New Orleans.
No other place in the USA resembles the city influenced by French, Spanish and Southern culture blanketed by Catholicism and its Mardi Gras ways.
Out of this exotic old world mixture comes Regis Prograis (pictured), a prizefighter much like his native city has been influenced by the surroundings and episodic moments in life that could be the subject of a motion picture.
Maybe that’s why a group based in Hollywood backs the New Orleans prizefighter.
Prograis (22-0, 19 KOs) steps back into the prize ring and faces England’s Terry Flanagan (33-1, 13 KOs) in the first stage of the World Boxing Super Series tournament in the super lightweight division on Saturday Oct. 27, at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. It will be streamed via www.Dazn.com.
Fighting out of Manchester, England, former lightweight world champion Flanagan moves up one weight division to test the pride of “N’awlins” as the natives pronounce it, according to my wife whose family still live in the “Big Easy.” If you follow boxing you know the Brits love boxing more than anything but soccer.
Flanagan, 29, lost his title to Maurice Hooker by split decision in Manchester last June. It left a bitter taste that not even the best gumbo could erase. He’s out to prove it was fluky and not an example of his talent. He has wins over B+ fighters and has never been stopped. Can his chin withstand the hurricane forces incoming from Prograis?
Speaking of hurricanes, Prograis remembers well his experience with Hurricane Katrina back in 2005. It was because of that horrific storm that he found himself transplanted to Houston, Texas where he learned the art of boxing.
But first there was football and if you know anything about Texas or Louisiana, then you also comprehend how important football is in the south. Prograis loves football because of the physical impact.
“I love to hit people,” says Prograis with this sincere gleam in his eye. “That’s one of my favorite things in football.”
Boxing was an exercise used by one of his former football squads and it’s where he was told that he packed a punch like a mini-Howitzer.
“All the football players would put on the gloves and we would fight,” said Prograis of his first excursion into boxing. “The coach said you should box. You hit hard.”
Soon he ventured into boxing and has found that his fists fit perfectly into the sport like one of those tailor-made boxing gloves he wears. The instinct to hit pads against pads soon transitioned into hitting another person’s face with his fists.
“I just like to fight. When I fight someone and get hit, I’m like, you can’t hurt me and I’m going to hit you back too and harder,” said Prograis while in Las Vegas recently.
Managed by film director Peter Berg and actor Mark Wahlberg, the New Orleans-born prizefighter gets slightly revved up whenever discussing the Mississippi River city known for the Essence Festival, jazz and the Super Dome.
“I’ve been saying for a long time to people in boxing to take boxing to New Orleans,” said Prograis almost breathless.
The interim WBC super lightweight titlist has his eyes on the actual WBC title now held by Northern California’s Jose Carlos Ramirez. But winning the WBSS could lead to the inevitable encounter foreseen by many.
“Jose (Carlos Ramirez) beat (Antonio) Orozco which was a hell of a fight,” said Prograis who watches fights religiously. “If I beat Terry Flanagan I’ll be looked upon more favorably.”
Talking about the pending WBSS tournament raises the pitch in his voice as if slipping a race car into a higher gear.
“My whole goal is to be the legitimate champ at 140 pounds,” Prograis says imagining the moment in his head. “Right now boxing is going up. There are a lot of peaks and valleys, but right now it’s going up and I’m in a perfect division.”
New Orleans has a new champion and Regis Prograis is his name.
Tokyo Drift to Las Vegas
A large number of fans from Japan flew over to Las Vegas to see Ryota Murata defend the WBA middleweight title against barely known Rob Brant last Saturday. It was supposed to be a coming out party for a proposed super match between Murata and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.
Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler was present at the MGM Park Theater where more than 2,700 fans packed the arena expecting to see their hero in all his splendor. Instead a plucky middleweight who trains in Las Vegas darted in and out firing quick combinations with sporadic power shots to steal the night away.
Every round went by with fans expecting the knockout blow that never came. Though the heavier power shots were landed by Murata the seemingly smaller Brant did land a boat load of punches throughout the 12 round title fight.
When the decision was announced a large collective gasp went through the crowd. Immediately after, the crowd slipped out quicker than Dodger fans hoping to avoid the crush of traffic.
In the dressing room Murata gave no excuses.
Instead of Murata versus Golovkin, it looks like Brant gets the invitation to a gunfight.
HBO: The Last Detail
New York City plays host to one of the final shows of the HBO Boxing era when Daniel Jacobs (34-2, 29 KOs) meets Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-0, 10 KOs) for the vacant IBF middleweight title at Madison Square Garden. HBO will televise this Saturday.
It’s the “Miracle Man” versus “the Technician” in a middleweight scrap that is co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment who also promotes Prograis who is competing on the same day in New Orleans 1,100 miles away.
DiBella once worked for HBO.
“I have six fighters fighting in world title fights,” said DiBella adding that aside from Prograis and Derevyanchenko he also promotes Yuandale Evans who is fighting for the WBA super featherweight title against champion Alberto Machado, Ivan Baranchyk competing too, along with Heather Hardy and Shelly Vincent fighting for the vacant WBO featherweight world title.
DiBella hopes to attend the press conference in New Orleans before returning to the New York City card.
“Four world champions in one night,” DiBella said.
He expects Prograis-Flanagan in New Orleans to be high octane.
“It will be a terrific fight as long as it lasts. Regis has a terrific offense. I expect a real entertaining fight as long as it goes,” said DiBella. “Flanagan’s only loss was to Maurice Hooker. I think it will be an exciting fight but I believe Regis will prevail.”
Two other fights taking place in Manhattan are anyone’s guess on who wins.
The female clash between Hardy and Vincent is a rematch of their classic of two years ago. This time it will be on HBO. It’s only the second time a female boxing match is televised on HBO and the last.
“I think if Heather and Shelly fought 10 times they would have a war 10 times,” said DiBella.
In the main event, Jacobs and Derevyanchenko is equally a toss-up encounter.
“They probably sparred 100 rounds with each other,” said DiBella of the two middleweights competing for the vacant world title. “It’s a true 50/50 fight. And I love Jacobs, you saw how close he fought Gennady Golovkin. That can be a very tough fight for Danny Jacobs. No one wants to fight Derevyanchenko.”
It looks to be another middleweight classic.
Photo credit: Al Applerose
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Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh
Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh
Oleksandr Usyk left no doubt that he is the best heavyweight of his generation and one of the greatest boxers of all time with a unanimous decision over Tyson Fury tonight at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But although the Ukrainian won eight rounds on all three scorecards, this was no runaway. To pirate a line from one of the DAZN talking heads, Fury had his moments in every round but Usyk had more moments.
The early rounds were fought at a faster pace than the first meeting back in May. At the mid-point, the fight was even. The next three rounds – the next five to some observers – were all Usyk who threw more punches and landed the cleaner shots.
Fury won the final round in the eyes of this reporter scoring at home, but by then he needed a knockout to pull the match out of the fire.
The last round was an outstanding climax to an entertaining chess match during which both fighters took turns being the pursuer and the pursued.
An Olympic gold medalist and a unified world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, the amazing Usyk improved his ledger to 23-0 (14). His next fight, more than likely, will come against the winner of the Feb. 22 match in Ridayh between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker which will share the bill with the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Fury (34-2-1) may fight Anthony Joshua next. Regardless, no one wants a piece of Moses Itauma right now although the kid is only 19 years old.
Moses Itauma
Raised in London by a Nigerian father and a Slovakian mother, Itauma turned heads once again with another “wow” performance. None of his last seven opponents lasted beyond the second round.
His opponent tonight, 34-year-old Australian Demsey McKean, lasted less than two minutes. Itauma, a southpaw with blazing fast hands, had the Aussie on the deck twice during the 117-second skirmish. The first knockdown was the result of a cuffing punch that landed high on the head; the second knockdown was produced by an overhand left. McKean went down hard as his chief cornerman bounded on to the ring apron to halt the massacre.
Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs after going 20-0 as an amateur) is the real deal. It was the second straight loss for McKean (22-2) who lasted into the 10th round against Filip Hrgovic in his last start.
Bohachuk-Davis
In a fight billed as the co-main although it preceded Itauma-McKean, Serhii Bohachuk, an LA-based Ukrainian, stopped Ishmael Davis whose corner pulled him out after six frames.
Both fighters were coming off a loss in fights that were close on the scorecards, Bohachuk falling to Vergil Ortiz Jr in a Las Vegas barnburner and Davis losing to Josh Kelly.
Davis, who took the fight on short notice, subbing for Ismail Madrimov, declined to 13-2. He landed a few good shots but was on the canvas in the second round, compliments of a short left hook, and the relentless Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) eventually wore him down.
Fisher-Allen
In a messy, 10-round bar brawl masquerading as a boxing match, Johnny Fisher, the Romford Bull, won a split decision over British countryman David Allen. Two judges favored Fisher by 95-94 tallies with the dissenter favoring Allen 96-93. When the scores were announced, there was a chorus of boos and those watching at home were outraged.
Allen was a step up in class for Fisher. The Doncaster man had a decent record (23-5-2 heading in) and had been routinely matched tough (his former opponents included Dillian Whyte, Luis “King Kong” Ortiz and three former Olympians). But Allen was fairly considered no more than a journeyman and Fisher (12-0 with 11 KOs, eight in the opening round) was a huge favorite.
In round five, Allen had Fisher on the canvas twice although only one was ruled a true knockdown. From that point, he landed the harder shots and, at the final bell, he fell to canvas shedding tears of joy, convinced that he had won.
He did not win, but he exposed Johnny Fisher as a fighter too slow to compete with elite heavyweights, a British version of the ponderous Russian-Canadian campaigner Arslanbek Makhmudov.
Other Bouts of Note
In a spirited 10-round featherweight match, Scotland’s Lee McGregor, a former European bantamweight champion and stablemate of former unified 140-pound title-holder Josh Taylor, advanced to 15-1-1 (11) with a unanimous decision over Isaac Lowe (25-3-3). The judges had it 96-92 and 97-91 twice.
A cousin and regular houseguest of Tyson Fury, Lowe fought most of the fight with cuts around both eyes and was twice deducted a point for losing his gumshield.
In a fight between super featherweights that could have gone either way, Liverpool southpaw Peter McGrail improved to 11-1 (6) with a 10-round unanimous decision over late sub Rhys Edwards. The judges had it 96-95 and 96-94 twice.
McGrail, a Tokyo Olympian and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, fought from the third round on with a cut above his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads. It was the first loss for Edwards (16-1), a 24-year-old Welshman who has another fight booked in three weeks.
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Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?
Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?
In professional boxing, the heavyweight division, going back to the days of John L. Sullivan, is the straw that stirs the drink. By this measure, the fight on May 18 of this year at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was the biggest prizefight in decades. The winner would emerge as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999 when Lennox Lewis out-pointed Evander Holyfield in their second meeting.
The match did not disappoint. It had several twists and turns.
Usyk did well in the early rounds, but the Gypsy King rattled Usyk with a harsh right hand in the fifth stanza and won rounds five through seven on all three cards. In the ninth, the match turned sharply in favor of the Ukrainian. Fury was saved by the bell after taking a barrage of unanswered punches, the last of which dictated a standing 8-count from referee Mark Nelson. But Fury weathered the storm and with his amazing powers of recuperation had a shade the best of it in the final stanza.
The decision was split: 115-112 and 114-113 for Usyk who became a unified champion in a second weight class; 114-113 for Fury.
That brings us to tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 21) where Usyk and Fury will renew acquaintances in the same ring where they had their May 18 showdown.
The first fight was a near “pick-‘em” affair with Fury closing a very short favorite at most of the major bookmaking establishments. The Gypsy King would have been a somewhat higher favorite if not for the fact that he was coming off a poor showing against MMA star Francis Ngannou and had a worrisome propensity for getting cut. (A cut above Fury’s right eye in sparring pushed back the fight from its original Feb. 11 date.)
Tomorrow’s sequel, bearing the tagline “Reignited,” finds Usyk a consensus 7/5 favorite although those odds could shorten by post time. (There was no discernible activity after today’s weigh-in where Fury, fully clothed, topped the scales at 281, an increase of 19 pounds over their first meeting.)
Given the politics of boxing, anything “undisputed” is fragile. In June, Usyk abandoned his IBF belt and the organization anointed Daniel Dubois their heavyweight champion based upon Dubois’s eighth-round stoppage of Filip Hrgovic in a bout billed for the IBF interim title. The malodorous WBA, a festering boil on the backside of boxing, now recognizes 43-year-old Kubrat Pulev as its “regular” heavyweight champion.
Another difference between tomorrow’s fight card and the first installment is that the May 18 affair had a much stronger undercard. Two strong pairings were the rematch between cruiserweights Jai Opetaia and Maris Briedis (Opetaia UD 12) and the heavyweight contest between unbeatens Agit Kabayal and Frank Sanchez (Kabayel KO 7).
Tomorrow’s semi-wind-up between Serhii Bohachuk and Ismail Madrimov lost luster when Madrimov came down with bronchitis and had to withdraw. The featherweight contest between Peter McGrail and Dennis McCann fell out when McCann’s VADA test returned an adverse finding. Bohachuk and McGrail remain on the card but against late-sub opponents in matches that are less intriguing.
The focal points of tomorrow’s undercard are the bouts involving undefeated British heavyweights Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs) and Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs). Both are heavy favorites over their respective opponents but bear watching because they represent the next generation of heavyweight standouts. Fury and Usyk are getting long in the tooth. The Gypsy King is 36; Usyk turns 38 next month.
Bob Arum once said that nobody purchases a pay-per-view for the undercard and, years from now, no one will remember which sanctioning bodies had their fingers in the pie. So, Fury-Usyk II remains a very big deal, although a wee bit less compelling than their first go-around.
Will Tyson Fury avenge his lone defeat? Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and the unofficial czar of “major league” boxing, certainly hopes so. His Excellency has made known that he stands poised to manufacture a rubber match if Tyson prevails.
We could have already figured this out, but Alalshikh violated one of the protocols of boxing when he came flat out and said so. He effectively made Tyson Fury the “A-side,” no small potatoes considering that the most relevant variable on the checklist when handicapping a fight is, “Who does the promoter need?”
The Uzyk-Fury II fight card will air on DAZN with a suggested list price of $39.99 for U.S. fight fans. The main event is expected to start about 5:45 pm ET / 2:45 pm PT.
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Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year
Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year
The Dec. 14 fight at Tijuana between Jaime Munguia and Bruno Surace was conceived as a stay-busy fight for Munguia. The scuttlebutt was that Munguia’s promoters, Zanfer and Top Rank, wanted him to have another fight under his belt before thrusting him against Christian Mbilli in a WBC eliminator with the prize for the winner (in theory) a date with Canelo Alvarez.
Munguia came to the fore in May of 2018 at Verona, New York, when he demolished former U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali, conqueror of Miguel Cotto. That earned him the WBO super welterweight title which he successfully defended five times.
Munguia kept winning as he moved up in weight to middleweight and then super middleweight and brought a 43-0 (34) record into his Cinco de Mayo 2024 match with Canelo.
Jaime went the distance with Alvarez and had a few good moments while losing a unanimous decision. He rebounded with a 10th-round stoppage of Canada’s previously undefeated Erik Bazinyan.
There was little reason to think that Munguia would overlook Surace as the Mexican would be fighting in his hometown for the first time since February of 2022 and would want to send the home folks home happy. Moreover, even if Munguia had an off-night, there was no reason to think that the obscure Surace could capitalize. A Frenchman who had never fought outside France, Surace brought a 25-0-2 record and a 22-fight winning streak, but he had only four knockouts to his credit and only eight of his wins had come against opponents with winning records.
It appeared that Munguia would close the show early when he sent the Frenchman to the canvas in the second round with a big left hook. From that point on, Surace fought mostly off his back foot, throwing punches in spurts, whereas the busier Munguia concentrated on chopping him down with body punches. But Surace absorbed those punches well and at the midway point of the fight, behind on the cards but nonplussed, it now looked as if the bout would go the full 10 rounds with Munguia winning a lopsided decision.
Then lightning struck. Out of the blue, Surace connected with an overhand right to the jaw. Munguia went down flat on his back. He rose a fraction-of-a second before the count reached “10,”, but stumbled as he pulled himself upright. His eyes were glazed and referee Juan Jose Ramirez, a local man, waived it off. There was no protest coming from Munguia or his cornermen. The official time was 2:36 of round six.
At major bookmaking establishments, Jaime Munguia was as high as a 35/1 favorite. No world title was at stake, yet this was an upset for the ages.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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