Regis Prograis says he's unbeatable at 140

Regis Prograis says his full focus is on the ‘hungry and dangerous’ challenger Danielito Zorrilla as he prepares to defend his WBC World Super-Lightweight title at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Saturday night, live worldwide on DAZN.

Prograis (28-1 24 KOs) defends his strap for the first time after becoming a two-time World champion after stopping Jose Zepeda in California in November, and ‘Rougarou’ faces Zorrilla (17-1 13 KOs) in a long-awaited return to his New Orleans hometown.

The Super-Lightweight division gained a new champion on Saturday when Teofimo Lopez dethroned WBO and Ring Magazine ruler Josh Taylor in New York, and a unification battle between Prograis and Lopez would be a blockbuster battle – but while Prograis believes he would come out on top against ‘The Takeover’, and the other top names at 140lbs, Zorrilla is his only focus as fight night draws close.

“It’s not hard to focus because when you fight someone that people say is lesser than you, those are the dangerous fights and the hard ones as you don’t know what they have got, and you need to perform against them,” said Prograis. “People do pull off upsets.

“I’m not looking past him, but you have in your mind that there’s massive fights out there, but I know that I won’t get to them unless I take care of my business on Saturday. So, until then, I don’t think about anyone else because you might not get there.

“There’s pressure on me already as I’m fighting at home in New Orleans, my people are coming to see me. And yes, Teo has done his thing against Josh, so I still feel that I am the best at 140lbs, but Teo deserves his credit, and I give that to him. So, I must go out and look great and prove I am the best, and then we can get that fight so there will be no doubt.

“You can’t control what people think. Some may say I’m the best, some will now say Teo, Subriel Matias, some might even say Rolly. I still feel I’m the best; you put me in with Rolly, I beat him. Put me in with Teo, I beat him. Put me in with Matias, I beat him. We can’t prove that until we fight, but that’s how I feel, and the only way to prove it is to fight each other.”