By Ian S Palmer
The World Boxing Super Series holds its junior welterweight final at the O2 Arena in London, England this Saturday, October 26th as WBA World and WBC Diamond Super Junior Welterweight Champion Regis Prograis of New Orleans takes on IBF Champion Josh Taylor of Scotland in a unification match between two unbeaten champions. Prograis last fought in February when he stopped Kiryl Relikh in the sixth round. Taylor was last in action in May when he beat Ivan Baranchyk by unanimous decision to win the IBF crown. The bout will be broadcast live on DAZN in North America and on Sky Box Office in the UK.
The 30-year-old Prograis has a perfect record of 24-0 with 20 Kos and won the interim WBC Super Lightweight Title when he stopped Julius Indongo in the second round in March, 2018 and then defended it against Juan Velasco with an eighth-round stoppage. 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 98 rounds since then. Prograis stands 5-feet-8-inches tall and possesses a 67-inch reach.
The most noticeable thing about the southpaw Prograis is obviously his 20 Kos in his 24 victories and that translates into a current knockout ratio of 83.3 per cent. He’s a dangerous puncher who isn’t really interested in hearing what the judges have to say about his fights. Along with beating Indongo and Velasco, Prograis also has victories over the likes of Terry Flanagan, Joel Diaz Jr., Luis Eduardo Florez, Aaron Herrera, Abel Ramos and Hector Velazquez. He certainly hasn’t been taking on a steady stream of elite contenders, but did step up in class in his last few fights and will be doing so again against Taylor.
The 28-year-old Taylor is also a southpaw and owns a perfect record of 15-0 along with 12 Kos. It’s obvious he has quite a bit of power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 80 per cent. Taylor turned pro back in 2015 and has just 78 rounds under his belt since then. He stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a wingspan of 69.5 inches which gives him a two-inch height and 2.5-inch reach advantage over Prograis. His biggest wins have been over Ryan Martin, Viktor Postol, Winston Campos, Miguel Vazquez and Ohara Davies.
The ‘Tartan Tornado’ Taylor has fought mainly in the UK with a couple of bouts in America. He won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in India in 2010 in the lightweight division and went 1-1 at the 2012 Olympics in London, England. He then won a gold medal at the 2012 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. He’s also been the Commonwealth Champion as a pro and Taylor has adapted well to the pro game and has surprised many opponents with his power and polished boxing skills.
Prediction…
This is a great matchup for the final of the World Boxing Super Series as it’s also a world title unification bout. Taylor has the height and reach advantage and is more or less fighting at home since the event’s in the UK. The scoring in many British fights have been ridiculously in favour of UK boxers lately and Prograis may want to take notice of this. This is a very even contest and has the potential to be one of the year’s best. Nothing’s out of the question here including a draw but I give Prograis the slight edge.
