It was officially announced on Tuesday, that undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) would move up to 140 pounds to challenge Regis Prograis (29-1, 24 KOs) for his WBC title on December 9.
Former undisputed super lightweight champion Josh Taylor vacated the WBC crown last year, allowing Prograis, the fighter he once beat via majority decision in a 2019 barn-burner, to pick up the vacant title with a November 2022 win against Jose Zepeda.
Prograis’ defeat to Taylor still stands as the lone loss of the Louisiana native’s 11-year career, but once he meets Haney, Taylor is predicting another Prograis defeat.
“I think that’s a great fight. They’re two very good fighters. I shared the ring with Prograis and we had a good dust up,” Taylor told Boxing News. “I’ve not shared the ring with Haney, but I’ve met him a couple of times and saw him in training and stuff. He’s very sharp. That would be a very good fight. In my opinion, I just think Devin Haney is a little bit too young, too fast, too sharp … Prograis didn’t look too clever in his last fight [beating Danielito Zorrilla via split decision]. Haney boxed [Vasiliy] Lomachenko and that was a great performance and a great fight. I thought Haney looked very sharp [winning the unanimous decision]. Just going off those two performances, if I was a betting man, I would place my money on Haney.”
“The Tartan Tornado” Taylor (19-1) will certainly be an interested observer of the Haney-Prograis fight.
Taylor – who is tied to Top Rank – has not officially moved on from 140 pounds ever since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Teofimo Lopez Jr. in June.
But he’s also entertained the idea of moving up to welterweight.
“Listen, don’t be fooled. I’m not short of any options moving forward. It’s more a case of what I want to do,” said Taylor. “What’s best for me at this time and what kind of path I want to take. I have plenty of options. I still believe I’m the best in the division. I just had a bad night [against Lopez].”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.