Devin Haney vs. Regis Prograis Presser Notes

Earlier today, the formal announcement via a press conference was held in San Francisco, CA, as WBC junior welterweight champion Regis Prograis (29-1, 24 KOs) faces unified lightweight champion Devin Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) on December 9^th there in the bay area. This is an intriguing matchup, as Haney will be moving up a division to face Prograis after he could not secure a big fight at lightweight. Haney hasn’t shied away from taking on the big fights lately, as the fight fans continually scrutinize his career. Prograis is a good fighter who has been in the wrong promotional situation, stalling his ability to land a big fight. Here are some press conference quotes from the fighters and Eddie Hearn from Matchroom Boxing.

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DEVIN HANEY

“I’m going to beat the s*** out of him. I’m thankful to be in this position and it’s a dream come true. This is a huge fight for boxing and it’s a big opportunity for me because I have always dreamed of becoming a two-weight division World champion. I’m happy that I can hold on to my titles but also happy that I can challenge Regis, who is the best at 140. But I will show that I’m on a different level and that I am the best. I’m excited for it, and I think the fight is going to fireworks. I’m far above him.

“If you look at the receipts, I called you [Regis Prograis] out before the [Danielito Zorilla] fight. This was the fight I always wanted at 140 if I couldn’t get one of the massive fights at 135 and so Regis Prograis was the guy who was next in line. Whether he was to look good or not, it didn’t matter to me. It’s the first fight at Chase Center and the fight big fight here in the Bay Area for some time. I’m just happy to be that guy because I always said I was going to come back here and bring big time boxing back here.”

REGIS PROGRAIS

“We can go back-and-forth but I don’t try to get underneath anyone’s skin. That’s not what I do. Maybe he doesn’t get the respect he deserves. He could have had it the easy way and I heard that they bought their losses away. I heard that from a bunch of people. But that s*** don’t matter for me. For me, I’m going to fight him, and I don’t care what you got. It’s about me and you now. I look at who he is now because that’s who I’m fighting. I don’t care about all his past s***. I care about fighting him now and that’s what I’m looking forward to. I believe I have the power to take anyone out.

“I don’t want to say too much but I think he’s going to be surprised at my skill. I’ve been working my ass off. I’ve been in LA training and sparring and in Texas doing the same s*** for a long time. It’s not going to be no ’skill versus power’ it’s going to be ’skill versus skill and then I still have power too. I want to show people in this fight my skill. Thank you Zorilla if he’s watching this. If I would have blasted Zorilla out in two rounds, then I don’t think he [Haney] would have fought me. I really don’t. I had an off night. But it happened and we’re here now, so let’s go on December 9. I’m going to keep my belt. I’m not giving it up and I’m going to keep it, for sure. I feel like I’m going to stop him.”

EDDIE HEARN

“I’m looking forward to this. It is one of the fights of the year coming to the Bay Area. We’ve sold nearly 9000 tickets at the Chase Center in the first week, which is just incredible. There hasn’t been big time boxing here for over a decade here in San Francisco and with Devin Haney coming home, the World champion Regis Prograis will be looking to spoil the party.

“People may talk about a clash of styles and Haney’s skill and precision. But he likes to stand and fight as well – Regis Prograis is technically gifted as well as being a huge puncher. This is one of the top fights in boxing and both guys believe they are the favorite going into this fight. Devin Haney always promised me he would be back [with Matchroom] and he is a man of his word. We have him signed for one of the biggest fights in boxing and, moving forward, we have matching rights and options on him – but I don’t think we’ll need it. This is the start of a new relationship with him but it’s like he never left.

“We also have Regis Prograis, who we represent, and our job was to deliver the biggest fights for him. We did that. We’ve brought Devin back to DAZN. He wants to win this fight and go on to fight Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez. We can make all those fights happen on DAZN. But for Regis, he wants the same thing. So, this is really about the best facing the best. The undisputed World lightweight champion against the reigning WBC champion at 140 – it’s just a tremendous match-up and we’re looking forward to seven great weeks of build-up. I think both fighters love the big occasions and the big nights. These are big-time fighters, and they are the guys who perform at their very best when they perform under pressure, when everything matters.

“This is a mega-fight. You know on December 9 you are going to get the best out of Devin and the best out of Regis Prograis. Regis feels like he has never quite got the respect for his performances and for his resume that he perhaps deserves – and this is a fight that catapults Regis Prograis into the big time and into the band of Gervonta Davis, Devin himself, Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garcia and all those mega names in boxing. He’s the champion and he’s determined to do so.

“There are some great fights on the undercard too. We have Liam Paro, one of our big Australian charges, up against Montana Love, which is a fantastic 140 match-up. Both fighters will have their eyes set on fighting the winner of Haney-Prograis and it is a real 50-50 fight. We’ve got Andy Cruz against Hector Tanajara in what is only Andy Cruz’s second professional fight for the Olympic champion facing a very tough and aggressive Tanajara. And the women’s IBF bantamweight World champion Ebanie Bridges putting her title on the line against Avril Mathie – and plenty more to look forward to on December 9.”

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is the founder of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms to include online, network TV and promotional companies. He is an American Public University alumnus and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, contributed to FanSidedMMA and ProBoxTV.

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