Do Or Die For Prograis: Duarte Meet On DAZN February 15th

Light welterweight contender Oscar Duarte will face former 140-pound champion Regis Prograis next month in a 12-round headliner on February 15 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The event will be available to watch live on DAZN.

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Golden Boy Promotions has chosen Prograis as an opponent to use as a springboard for the career of WBA No. 9 Duarte (28-2-1, 22 KOs), who has looked good since knocked out in the eighth round by Ryan Garcia. on December 2, 2023.

If Duarte wins this fight, he will get a higher ranking with the World Boxing Association because he is still far from being in a position to challenge for a world title.

The Fall of Regis

This is a must-fight for the 35-year-old Prograis (29-3, 24 KOs) as he has lost two straight and hasn’t won since 2023. Regis is coming off a one-sided 12-round bout. unanimous decision defeat against Jack Catterall on October 26 in Manchester, England.

Former WBA and WBC Light Welterweight Champion Prograis made a victorious fighter look better than he was in that fight. Before that, Regis lost Devin Haney by a 12-round unanimous decision on December 9, 2023.

Prograis needs to get back to his best form between 2015 and 2022. In his losses to Haney and Catterall, Prograis didn’t press like he had earlier in his career, and seemed afraid of getting hit.

Amazingly, the lightweight Catterall dropped Prograis twice in the ninth round, and looked timid for the rest of the 12-round fight.

Return or retirement?

If Regis loses to Duarte, he should consider retiring because that would make it clear that he has no future. The only way to save things would be for Prograis to go down to 135 to try to reinvent himself. It would be pointless for him to go up to 147 because he already has chin problems at 140.

Duarte is coming off a 10-round unanimous decision over Botirzhon Akhmedov on November 16th. It was a good fight that involved a lot of two-way action. Akhmedov hurt Duarte at one point in the fight and landed a lot of hard punches. Duarte’s power and strong chin allowed him to get the fight. It wasn’t an easy fight for him, though.

“I understand that inactivity is the death of a fighter. At this point in my career, I want and need to be more active,” Prograis said. “I think this fight has fireworks written all over it. My opponent is a strong, tough and hungry fighter, and it should be a great night in California. I’m excited for this fight and look forward to next month.”