Two-time world champion Regis Prograis faces Danielito Zorrilla at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA on Saturday, June 17. Making the first defense of his WBC super lightweight title, “Rougarou” goes through the ropes in front of his hometown crowd for the first time since October 2018. The scheduled for 12 rounds bout airs live stream on DAZN.
Prograis (28-1, 24 KOs) landed the WBC belt last November 2022 in Carson, California where he stopped Jose Zepeda in the 11th round. He previously held the WBA title, but fell short, dropping a majority decision in the championship unification with the then IBF champion Josh Taylor in October 2019 London.
If successful against Danielito Zorrilla (17-1, 13 KOs), the 34-year-old New Orleans native, Regis Prograis might be looking to square off against other top 140-pounders. Nevertheless, at this stage, he says he is focused on the challenger he is facing on June 17.
On June 10 in New York, Teofimo Lopez defeated former undisputed super lightweight champion and Prograis’ old rival Josh Taylor by unanimous decision and became a new WBO king. Subriel Matias is a current IBF titleholder. Rolando Romero holds the WBA strap.
Regis Prograis: I feel I can I beat him, but we can’t prove that until we fight
“It’s not hard to focus because when you fight someone that people say is lesser than you, those are the dangerous fights and the hard ones as you don’t know what they have got, and you need to perform against them,” Prograis said. “People do pull off upsets.
“I’m not looking past him [Danielito Zorrilla], but you have in your mind that there’s massive fights out there, but I know that I won’t get to them unless I take care of my business on Saturday. So, until then, I don’t think about anyone else because you might not get there.”
“There’s pressure on me already as I’m fighting at home in New Orleans, my people are coming to see me. And yes, Teo has done his thing against Josh, so I still feel that I am the best at 140lbs, but Teo deserves his credit, and I give that to him. So, I must go out and look great and prove I am the best, and then we can get that fight so there will be no doubt.”
“You can’t control what people think. Some may say I’m the best, some will now say Teo, Subriel Matias, some might even say Rolly. I still feel I’m the best; you put me in with Rolly, I beat him. Put me in with Teo, I beat him. Put me in with Matias, I beat him. We can’t prove that until we fight, but that’s how I feel, and the only way to prove it is to fight each other.”
In the UK and Australia, Prograis vs Zorrilla airs live on Sunday, June 18.
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