American boxer Regis Prograis had an omen ahead of his only loss but now dreams of mega fights in his home city
- Regis Prograis had an omen ahead of the only loss of his pro career — a knife-edge defeat to Josh Taylor, last year.
- He's now dreaming of big-money fights and hopes to bring a world title bout to New Orleans at a time he hopes the city's NBA side, the Pelicans, reach a playoff spot.
- Prograis fights Juan Heraldez in front of an expected 11,000 socially-distant fans at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
- Victory, he hopes, will tee up a rematch against Taylor, a marquee event against Adrien Broner, or even a big fight versus Teofimo Lopez.
American boxer Regis Prograis had an omen ahead of his only loss but is now dreaming of mega fights in New Orleans.
Prograis engaged Josh Taylor in a fight of the year contender in 2019, slugging away until he had disfigured the Scotsman so badly his eye had swollen like a baseball. "I really messed that eye up," he told Insider last week.
It was one of the most significant boxing matches of the year, bringing together two world champions in the super lightweight division, fighting for the coveted Muhammad Ali trophy for the World Boxing Super Series championship.
But hours before the bout, Prograis had an omen. He foresaw that he'd be on the plane, flying back home, next to an empty seat. There would be no world titles and no trophies — just a cold and lonely sadness.
Prograis said he "felt empty" in the locker room after the knife-edge decision loss. His omen earlier that day had become his reality.
"I feel like I won the fight. It was just his night. It was close, I wouldn't say they robbed me … but if it was here, I would have gotten the [win].
"I had an omen the day of the fight. I didn't tell anybody. I just had a feeling I was going to get back on the plane without the Muhammad Ali trophy.
"I had a feeling of being empty, but I knew I wasn't going to lose the fight. And that's exactly what happened. He got the decision, but it was fairly controversial and a close fight that I felt like I won."
It was all a dream; Prograis wants mega-bouts in New Orleans
Prograis fights Saturday for the first time since that defeat to Taylor, the only loss in his pro career, taking on Juan Heraldez in a 140-pound match at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
It is a Premier Boxing Champions organized event broadcast on Showtime pay-per-view, and will have a partial fan allowance for up to 11,000 people inside the stadium.
Though Prograis weighed-in slightly over the super lightweight limit Friday, he told Insider that he wants to continue campaigning in the division until he reclaims a championship in that weight class.
He said he has unfinished business at super lightweight before he makes an inevitable move to 147-pounds, where he dreams of bringing big-money fights to New Orleans.
"I just want to get past Juan Heraldez, then of course they got the Adrien Broner fight out there. Teofimo Lopez has been saying he'd be willing to come up and fight me. There's a Taylor rematch.
"There's a lot of big money fights out there for me. Huge fights. Whatever comes … the best opportunity, that's the one I'll take. I want to become a champion again at 140 before I go up to 147.
Should Prograis advance through the world rankings, one thing he would love to do is bring a championship bout to the 18,000 capacity Smoothie King Center, home of the New Orleans Pelicans NBA team, or the 75,000 seater stadium Superdome, which is where the Saints NFL team plays its home games.
"Once I get another fight, like Adrien Broner, we could do it at the Smoothie King or the Superdome. I always wanted to fight in either one of those. That's a dream come true for me."
Prograis has fought twice in the city's Lakefront Arena, which is a three minute drive from Prograis' childhood home.
But fighting in a place like the Smoothie King Center, at a time when the Pelicans franchise is being built around the basketball phenom Zion Williamson, is something the Houston-based Louisianan boxer hopes materializes in the near future.
"That dude Zion is amazing and very, very explosive. We're glad to have him at the Pelicans. There's a lot of good teams, man, the LA Lakers just won again.
"Zion, man … he looks unstoppable, so if they can put a good team together, hopefully they can go to the playoffs and win the championship for New Orleans."
If the Pelicans reached the playoffs and Prograis brought a money fight to New Orleans at the same time, few would be happier than the 31-year-old.
"That would be huge. Huge for New Orleans, man. Just try to bring the city back. Everything slowed down because of the corona. A lot of canceled events.
"The city thrives on tourism and we got to bring that back. If Zion can take them to the playoffs and if I can have a world title fight, that would be equally great."
First Prograis must dispatch Saturday opponent Juan Heraldez
His Saturday bout against the unbeaten 30-year-old fighter Juan Heraldez is only a two-hour drive from his current home in Houston.
The event was originally supposed to take place in Connecticut without fans, but has been moved to the Alamodome to accommodate 11,000 people socially-distant around the huge stadium. "It couldn't have worked out better," Prograis told us.
He said he struggled to answer questions when reporters would ask about the prospect of no fans, as he feels fan-driven atmospheres make boxing the sport it is, but now there's going to be a fan allowance he's relieved.
The coronavirus messed with a lot of Prograis' plans as he's had four fights fall through this year, enduring four training camps. "I've been training the whole time and I can't wait to get back in the ring," he said, exciting to finally be able to punch someone's head in.
"I've watched a few of Heraldez's fights," he said. "What I take from watching him is I don't think he's on the level I'm on — the world championship level.
"I've been training like I'm fighting the best fighter in the world, like a maniac, training my ass off.
"I want to be back at the top, a champion again at 140, before going to 147. That's my mindset."
'I'm the biggest puncher at 140-pounds'
Prograis feels he has two qualities which set him apart from all others in his division — he says he is not only the biggest puncher at 140-pounds, but he also has the greatest ability to withstand shots thrown by his opponents.
Heraldez is just "a very normal fighter," according to Prograis.
"I've been sparring with people I think are way better and of course he's never fought anyone like me before, my defense, my power.
"It's like the great Mike Tyson said, 'Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.' And I think he's going to come out with a plan of trying to establish things, but the first good shot I land on him, all that goes out the window because it's going to hurt.
"I feel like I'm the biggest puncher at 140, even as far as statistics go. I'm pretty sure I have the strongest chin, also. Once he hits me and feels like damn, I can't hurt him, it's going to be a reality check and then it will be over from there."
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