By Ian S Palmer
Former WBA World and WBC Diamond Super Junior Welterweight Champion Regis Prograis of New Orleans returns to the ring this Saturday, April 17 when he takes on fellow southpaw Ivan Redkach of Ukraine. The 10-round bout can be seen on pay-per-view in America and on the FITE network in the UK. Prograis last fought in October when he stopped Juan Heraldez in the third round. Redkach was last in the ring with Danny Garcia in January, 2020 and dropped a 12-round unanimous decision.
The 32-year-old Prograis has a record of 25-1 with 20 Kos. He won interim WBC Junior Welterweight Title when he stopped Julius Indongo in the second round in March, 2018 and then won the vacant WBC Diamond belt against Juan Velasco with an eighth-round stoppage. He defended against Terry Flanagan and Kiryl Relikh and won the WBA belt against Relikh before running into IBF Josh Taylor in the World Boxing Super Series final and was edged by a majority decision.
He had a fine amateur career and has also won the NABF Junior Super Lightweight Title and NABF Super Lightweight crown since turning pro in 2012 and has boxed a total of 113 rounds since then. Prograis stands 5-feet-8-inches tall and possesses a 67-inch reach. The most noticeable thing about him is obviously the 21 Kos in his 24 victories which translates into a current knockout ratio of 80.8 per cent.
Prograis is a dangerous puncher who isn’t really interested in hearing what the judges have to say about his fights. Along with beating Indongo, Velasco and Terry Flanagan, He’s also beaten the likes of Joel Diaz Jr., Luis Eduardo Florez, Aaron Herrera, Abel Ramos and Hector Velazquez. He needs to keep on winning until he can land a rematch with Taylor or a title shot with another world champ.
The 35-year-old Redkach fights out of Los Angeles and climbs into the ring with a mark of 23-5-1 with 18 Kos. He’s a relentless puncher who likes to go to the body but has won just five his last 10 bouts along with five losses and a draw. His best wins have come against Devon Alexander, Tony Luis, Sergey Gulyakevich and Yakubu Amidu.
Redkach had an extensive and impressive amateur career but other than his win over Alexander has struggled as a pro over the past couple of years. He turned pro back in 2009 and has 145 rounds under his belt since then. Redkach’s other losses have been by fourth-round TKO to Dejan Zlaticanin in 2015, a 10-round unanimous decision to Tevin Farmer in 2016, a split decision defeat to Argenis Mendez in May of 2017 and he was stopped by John Molina in the fourth round of a slugfest in December, 2017.
His lone draw was a 10-round affair with Luis Cruz in April of 2016. Redkach stands just over 5-feet-9-inches tall with a reach of 71 inches which gives him a 1.5-inch edge in height and a four-inch reach advantage over Prograis. He possesses pretty good power with a current knockout ratio of 60 per cent and is a tough guy who’s been in several wars.
Prediction…
Prograis is a world-class boxer with plenty of skills and power while Redkach comes in second best on both categories. However, as Devon Alexander found out, Redkach can’t be taken lightly. Redkach’s aggressive style will provide plenty of chances for Prograis to swing back though and I can’t see Redkach winning this fight unless he lands the prefect punch. I’m expecting Prograis to have his hand held up when it’s over.
