Regis Prograis gained everything he needed out of his most recent victory.
The former WBA junior welterweight titlist extended his current three fight win streak following a sixth-round stoppage of Belfast’s Tyrone McKenna. Prograis (27-1, 21KOs) has yet to go the distance since losing his title to Josh Taylor (19-0, 13KOs) via majority decision in their terrific October 2019 title unification match, with the goal of becoming a two-time champion.
The win two weeks ago marked the third straight stoppage win for Prograis in as many fights, this in his most disciplined performance in and out of the ring. It was his first since the Taylor loss where Prograis came within the 140-pound junior welterweight limit, as the fight with McKenna was a WBC-sanctioned title eliminator.
Even when McKenna was floored in round two, Prograis heeded the advice of head trainer Bobby Benton to box and build toward an eventual stoppage.
“I knew he was tough. I dropped him but I knew he’d get up,” Prograis noted to Probellum ringside reporter ‘Radio’ Rahim Davies following his latest win. “When he got up, he acted like he wasn’t hurt at all. I just stayed calm and stayed on him. I just kept boxing.
“When I hurt him, when I cut him, he just pushed forward. That’s the Irish fighters, they just keep pushing forward. I had to change my game plan. I had to start boxing a little more and (the cut) just started opening up more and more. I just keep improving. I just want to keep getting better. I want to become a world champion again.”
Prograis has yet to go past six rounds since his narrow defeat to Taylor. The New Orleans-born, Houston-based Prograis stopped unbeaten Juan Heraldez inside of three rounds in his first fight following his lone defeat, though missing weight for the October 2020 clash. His next ring appearance proved little due to the unwillingness of Ivan Redkach to engage. Redkach flopped his way out of an initially ruled technical decision win before the Georgia boxing commission correctly changed the verdict to a sixth-round, technical knockout win for Prograis though in an otherwise forgettable fight.
The stoppage win over McKenna was as close to a complete performance to come from Prograis since his brief time spent as the WBA junior welterweight titlist. The clear goal: to keep improving on the road to two-time title status.
“I was at the top of my division before. I just want to get back up there again,” vowed Prograis. “I want to keep doing better things and become world champion again.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox