Regis Prograis is taking his career into his own hands.
The WBC 140-pound titlist from New Orleans announced on his social media Thursday that he is now a free agent.
It is not clear if Prograis, 34, cut ties with just his promoter, or his management, or both. Prograis was last linked with Probellum, the defunct upstart once led by the oft-roving veteran Richard Schaefer.
Regarded as one of the top junior welterweights in the world for the past several years, Prograis has mostly floundered on the promotional end and has often spoken out against the business politics that dominate the sport. Inactivity has also been an issue for the Houston resident.
Prograis found himself enmeshed in a particularly thorny situation earlier this year when his expected title defense against Jose Ramirez abruptly fell through. Ramirez is backed by Top Rank, one of the foremost power brokers in boxing.
Since that incident, it has been unclear what Prograis’ next steps are.
Apparently, big opportunities are now in the works.
“I know I’ve been MIA,” Prograis said in a video posted to his Instagram account. “A lot of people been asking about me and stuff like that. Unfortunately a lot of boxing politics they getting in my way. Of course, me, I wanna stay active, I wanna fight. The big news, I’ve got good news for you all. I’m a free agent right now. So I’mma be taking a lot of things into my own hands. Real good news. I’m a free agent.
“I feel like, now, I’mma really get all the big fights, the fights that people wanna see. The big name fights. The big name. The big money. All the belts. That’s my goal, to clear the division. Sh!t about to get popping for real. A lot sh!t ’bout to jump off. A lot of sh!t ’bout to get poppin’ for real. Free agent, baby.”