Regis Prograis had worked for three years to get another shot at the highest level of his sport. I was with the fighter and his team as he prepared for the bout
The late autumn sun, which had lit up Los Angeles on a beautiful afternoon, slipped away when Regis Prograis arrived at the Dignity Health Sports Park. It was 5.45pm on Saturday and LA Galaxy’s home had turned into the War Ground – as their boxing arena is known. Prograis was three hours from stepping into the ring to fight Jose Zepeda for the WBC’s world super-lightweight title on an unforgettable night.
Drifting past the David Beckham statue, and down into the basement, Prograis and his team wore gleaming white tracksuits with an image of the Rougorou emblazoned on the front and back. The rougarou, a wolf-like monster in Cajun folklore as well as being the boxer’s nickname, is a mark of his Louisiana roots. Prograis grew up in New Orleans and only left for Houston after he and his family lost everything in 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, when he was 16.