Regis Prograis vs. Danielito Zorrilla Press Conference Quotes
WBC super lightweight champion Regis Prograis (28-1, 24 KOs) and Danielito Zorrilla (17-1, 13 KOs) met today at a press conference ahead of their title fight on June 17. Both men exuded confidence and firmly believed that they would emerge victorious come fight night.
Prograis won his world title via an eleventh round stoppage of Jose Zepeda in November 2022. Against Zorrilla, he will be making his first defense of the WBC belt. For Prograis, this will be his first fight with Matchroom Boxing since signing a deal with them.
FACE OFF π@RPrograis vs Danielito Zorrilla
π WBC World Super Lightweight TItle#PrograisZorrilla live on @DAZNBoxing pic.twitter.com/4y3AkNPmHP
β Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) June 15, 2023
It also marks his return to his hometown of New Orleans, a city he has not fought in since 2018. Zorrilla was not the original opponent in mind for this date. Liam Paro was the original opponent but had to pull out due to injury. Puerto Rico’s Zorrilla wound up receiving the call with roughly a month to go before fight night.
Prograis vs. Zorrilla press conference quotes
“Thank you very much for the opportunity, first and foremost,” said Zorrilla through a translator. “It is a huge opportunity [and] a huge fight for me. You saw me training in the gym yesterday. We’re giving our all and putting everything into this so we can surprise the world on Saturday night.”
“He [Prograis] is a great boxer, he is one of the best in the world. I have to thank him for the opportunity, but, I believe in my abilities, believe that we have the tools and the ability to beat him on Saturday.”
“I think [Prograis] is a great fighter with great experience and I think he’ll want to go out and show how good he is in front of his own people. But what’s going to happen is he is going to clash with ‘El Zorro’ on Saturday night and he’s going to be ready for war. We’re going to bring war.”
“I have to get past him first,” Prograis stressed. “It’s a lot of big fights out there for me but I’m not worried about none of them. I’m in my hometown and I have to show out…There’s going to be pressure, but honestly, I don’t feel it. Everybody here I’m really connected to them..I don’t feel no pressure. I’m just ready to have fun and just do what I do. I am the best at 140 and I just want to go out there and keep proving it.”
Towards the end of the press conference, Prograis made clear what he plans on doing to Zorrilla:
“It’s not going to be a war, I’m going to whoop his ass!”
Fight details
Fight fans can catch the Prograis-Zorrilla action live on DAZN on Saturday, June 17. Early prelims will be available live on YouTube in addition to DAZN. The card is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET. Main event ring walks are expected at around 10:21 p.m. ET. All timings are subject to change due to the length of undercard bouts.
Currently writing out of Toronto, Canada, Saadeq first became a boxing fan while living in Doha, Qatar. Looking to become more involved in the sport, he began writing about boxing and has had work published in outlets such as Seconds Out and Boxing Social. He looks forward to continue covering boxing on Big Fight Weekend.