Most fans and pundits will agree that Prograis-Taylor is one of the more, if not the most, intriguing matchups of the year. Kudos to the World Boxing Super Series for seeing its junior welterweight tournament all the way through despite the many speed bumps and road blocks along the way.

It is truly a high-stakes showdown. So much more is at stake than the Prograis’ WBA and Taylor’s IBF belts. Those two alphabet belts are just the tip of the iceberg. Further downstream in the 140-pound picture are exponentially bigger and more lucrative paydays.

Save a draw, either Prograis or Taylor will walk out of the 02 Arena with two of the four major 140-pound belts. For the winner, a superfight with Jose Ramirez, who owns the remaining two titles, for the unified, undisputed championship is simply a no-brainer.

When Terence Crawford unified all four junior welterweight titles in 2017, there was nothing left to accomplish in that division so he vacated the championship and moved up to 147. But that will not be the case for Prograis, Taylor or Ramirez should one of them emerge as unified champion.

Lurking on the peripheries between 135 and 147 are two of the biggest stars in the sport - Mikey Garcia and Vasyl Lomachenko - two overachievers who are always looking to push the envelope with new challenges.

Beyond Garcia and Lomachenko is the powerball of boxing sweepstakes - Manny Pacquiao. Although Pacquiao has been competing at 147 for over a decade, he can likely be enticed to shed seven pounds for a unified championship, And the pint-sized Pacman can probably make 140 simply by skipping his Tuesday and Thursday breakfasts the week of the fight.

Here’s how Prograis and Taylor size up:

Style

Both fighters are equally problematic to each other style-wise. Taylor's sternest test against a fellow southpaw came last year against Winston Campos, a B-minus caliber opponent at best. The Scot stopped Campos, who built his 30-3-5 (18 KOs) record against sub-par opposition, in three rounds.

Prograis, on the other hand, has defeated two southpaws who were recent world titleholders. In March of 2018, he blasted out Julius Indongo in two rounds and seven months later, he dominated and dropped Terry Flanagan for a lopsided decision victory. But Taylor is no garden variety southpaw. Not only is he speedy and multi-dimensional, he is right hook dominant and loves to punish the body from the right side much like Mexican fighters do from the left. It is a style Prograis has never encountered before.    

Power

Prograis (24-0, 20 KOs) has the edge in the power punching department; he has more knockouts than Taylor has fights. Taylor (15-0, 12 KOs), though, is by no means feather-fisted. Prograis has crunching one-punch knockout power while Taylor scores his knockouts more on accumulation of punishment.

Speed

Punch for punch, both fighters are probably equal in speed, but Taylor utilizes his fast hands more effectively by rattling off rapid-fire multi-punch combinations fluidly. Prograis, on the other hand, tends to throw one or two punches at a time focusing on power rather than volume.

Size

Taylor stands at 5-foot-10 with a 69½-inch reach while Prograis is 5-foot-8 with a 67-inch reach.

Defense

Prograis has the slight edge in this department. The New Orlenian has two modes of combat - bull and matador. As a bull, Prograis gets hit with everything his opponent throws at him. But when he decides he doesn’t want to get hit and morphs into matador mode, he is almost untouchable.

As slick and technically proficient as Taylor is in the ring, he is surprisingly easy to hit as evidenced in his fights with Victor Postol and Ivan Baranchyk.

Punch resistance

Neither Prograis nor Taylor has been down or severely hurt. At this juncture they both appear to have equally sturdy chins. Neither one has been seriously tested to the body, though. Each will likely face the sternest tests of their respective punch resistances against each other.

Quality of opposition

Prograis and Taylor have both beaten some high-caliber fighters, but Prograis’ victories have been one-sided and effortless while Taylor had to dig deep to come out on top.

Both dethroned sitting titleholders in their last fights; Prograis stopped Kyril Relikh in six rounds for the WBA belt and Taylor dropped Ivan Baranchyk twice in the seventh round en route to a unanimous decision victory to claim the IBF version. But it was a dominant victory for Prograis while it was a grueling, give-and-take battle for Taylor.

Both have also tangled with former world title holders. Prograis scored four knockdowns en route to stopping Indongo in two rounds and barely took a punch in his lopsided points victory over Flanagan. Taylor beat Victor Postol by the skin of his teeth in a life-and-death struggle last year.

Intangibles

Will Taylor be able to utilize his size and length to keep Prograis at bay? Which Prograis will show up - bull or matador? Or will he be able to combine both modes of combat without sacrificing offense for defense or vice versa? Both are vicious body punchers, so how will each react when they get drilled to the torso like never before? Will Prograis, fighting on Taylor’s backyard, feel added pressure to go above and beyond the call of duty to win the fight? Will Taylor, fighting on home turf, feel added pressure to not just win but take unnecessary risks to win impressively for his fans at the 02? f---ed

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