On Saturday, Regis Prograis returns for the first time since losing to Devin Haney when he takes on Jack Catterall at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England, on DAZN.
Prograis, 29-2 (24 KOs), suffered a one-sided unanimous decision defeat to Haney in December, losing every round on the scorecards and getting knocked down as well.
“Rougarou” reflected on his rocky performance in which he landed just 36 punches and absorbed 129 shots.
“The moment was so big for me, and maybe I got lost in the moment,” Prograis told BoxingScene. “I wanted to win so bad. I should have gone out there and enjoyed myself, but I didn't do me. I don't know what was going on.
“I stayed in camp for too long in the Haney fight, and you're not supposed to do that. I feel like that's what kind of messed me up a little bit too. Usually, I do a six-to-eight-week camp and I trained for four months for that fight. I was training three or four times a day. Camp is so hard that you need to give yourself mental breaks, and I didn't do that. I gave myself mental breaks closer to the fight and I should have been doing that way earlier. When you look at it in hindsight, it was definitely too long. When I was doing it though, I wanted to do it. I had a certain formula, and then I got into a big fight against Devin and tried to change everything up. That's not what got me to being a two-time champion. But you live and you learn.”
Haney moved on from the Prograis win to fight Ryan Garcia in April, a bout that has since been shrouded in controversy. Haney was dropped three times and suffered a majority decision loss only to have the bout later be ruled a ‘no contest’ after Garcia tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug ostarine.
“It was a bad beating, and beatings like that definitely take off of your career,” said Prograis. “But you never know. It's about his mental and how he can come back from that. Some people can come back, and some people can't. It's really a question mark right now. The whole world will now see how he comes back and performs.”
Prograis said he would like to have a rematch with Haney one day, but he knows he needs to do some serious work to get there. Beating Catterall, 29-1 (13 KOs), in a crossroads clash will get him back on track.
“This is my last fight under contract with Matchroom but I like everything about them and would most likely go back to them,” said Prograis. “Matchroom is doing some big things but it's all about the money and who brings the best things. We'll see after this fight what happens and whoever else offers me the best deal.
“I think I'll smoke everybody. That's just the confidence I have in myself.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on , , and , through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via .