Fresh Restart For Regis Prograis

Regis Prograis is back in the ring, and while it took the backend of 2020 to happen with everything going on, it is a chance to restart his run back to a title.

Prograis (24-1,20 KOs) was slated before the Covid 19 pandemic to take on Maurice Hooker at a catchweight fight before that bout was wiped out. And, at the time, Prograis was managed by DiBella Entertainment.

Instead, the former WBA champion at Super Lightweight is taking on Juan Hearldez on the undercard of Gervonta Davis and Leo Sana Cruz live in front of fans at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas October 31st under the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) banner.

For Prograis, the timing couldn’t have been better.

“I’m very excited for my first fight as part of the PBC stable,” Prograis said, speaking to the media on the Zoom conference call Tuesday. “I’ve been wanting to come over to this side for a long time, and it’s finally happening.

When something bad happens, something good usually happens off of that, so this is perfect. I’m in Katy, Texas, which is a two-hour drive from San Antonio, is a big fight town. Plus, this is the first fight back where we’re having fans. Everything is working out perfectly, and I’m so excited to be on such a big card and to get back in the ring.”

10.31.2020 #DavisSantaCruz https://t.co/cC5UUH0BWo

— Rougarou (@RPrograis) October 13, 2020

That first fight isn’t a cakewalk, as he is taking on Heraldez (16-0-1,10 KOs), who is coming off a majority draw against Argenis Mendez last year to open the Deontay Wilder- Dominic Breazeale card in May 2019. If you think Hearldez will recreate the fight that Prograis had with current unified champion Josh Taylor last year, think again.

“I’ve only watched a couple of rounds against Josh Taylor because that was a fight against a southpaw. I don’t think I can take much from that. I’m a totally different fighter,” Hearldez stated on the same media Zoom call Tuesday.

What about the rematch with Josh Taylor and the rest of the division for Prograis? For now, he is only concerned with the bout with Heraldez and will let the rest fall where they may.

“My next move depends on what’s offered to me. But first off, I have a tough fight in front of me. I’m focused on Juan Heraldez. There are a lot of things on the table for me after this, but I have to get past him first. I do yearn to be a champion at 140 pounds again before I move up to welterweight. That is the plan. But the landscape of boxing changes so much that it’s so hard to predict. You never know what’s going to happen,” Prograis said.

That restart to be champion again starts with a victory against Heraldez on October 31st.