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The winner of the Regis Prograis-Maurice Hooker fight is a potential opponent for Mikey Garcia if he returns to the junior welterweight division.
Garcia is intrigued by Prograis-Hooker, though he expects Prograis to win that battle between former 140-pound champions whenever it is rescheduled. New Orleans’ Prograis (24-1, 20 KOs) and Dallas’ Hooker (27-1-3, 18 KOs) were supposed to fight Friday night at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, but their 12-round, 143-pound bout was postponed indefinitely amid the coronavirus crisis.
“I actually think Regis Prograis might be the favorite on my end,” Garcia told promoter Eddie Hearn during a recent Instagram Live interview. “I think he’s solid, he’s strong. And Hooker, he got stopped by Jose Ramirez. So, that’s the only thing that’s kind of still in the back of my mind. You know, even though it’s a long time [ago] now, it’s gonna be a long time by the time from the Ramirez fight, you know, it still takes a while. Some fighters don’t recover well from a stoppage, don’t come back as motivated or as sure of themselves. And that’s the only question that I have about Hooker. So, that’s why I kind of lean towards a Regis Prograis victory.”
Ramirez (25-0, 17 KOs), the WBC/WBO champion from Avenal, California, stopped Hooker in the sixth round of their junior welterweight title unification fight July 27 at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.
Hooker suffered a first-round knockdown during that bout, but he got up and made it competitive prior to losing by technical knockout. Ramirez caught Hooker with a left hook that staggered the former WBO junior welterweight champion in the sixth round.
Ramirez then unloaded a flurry of punches on a defenseless Hooker, who backed into the ropes once he was hurt. Referee Mark Nelson quickly stepped between them to halt the action at 1:48 of the sixth round.
The 30-year-old Hooker bounced back from his first professional defeat by scoring a first-round TKO victory over Mexico’s Uriel Perez (19-5, 17 KOs) on December 20 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix.
Prograis, meanwhile, will attempt to overcome his lone loss when he encounters Hooker. In his most recent action, Scottish southpaw Josh Taylor (16-0, 12 KOs) topped Prograis by 12-round majority decision, won the WBA 140-pound title from Prograis and retained the IBF junior welterweight title October 26 at O2 Arena in London.
“That’s a very good fight for both the guys right now,” Garcia said of Prograis-Hooker. “They both wanna get back on top. You know, so I’m sure they’re gonna be very hungry for a win and they’re gonna get in the best shape possible. You know, they know that a win opens doors to much bigger fights for either one of them.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.