The introductory press conference announcing the December 9th fight between Devin Haney and Regis Prograis saw the two fighters taking a backseat to their coaches as their trainers devolved into bickering on stage for the majority of the press conference. It also involved Prograis walking back on earlier comments he made about a loss Haney had incurred in the past when he had been fighting in Mexico as a pro.
Before Tuesday’s press conference, Regis Prograis (29-1, 24 KO’s) had alerted the public to a conspiracy centering around Devin Haney (30-0, 15 KO’s) and an apparent loss he had suffered during the earlier portions of his professional boxing career, which was subsequently dismissed from official records through bribery.
“So I’m hearing Devin lost a fight in Mexico earlier in his career but he paid to have it removed from his record,” The WBC super lightweight champion revealed in a post on Twitter.
“IF that’s true, that’s the weakest sh** I ever heard so far in boxing. The press conference is on Tuesday, and y’all reporters better not let this sh** slide.“
When the press conference in San Francisco occurred on October 17th, Regis Prograis seemed dismissive of his earlier post, which he had put out two days before the presser.
“That sh** doesn’t matter,” Prograis said, doing a clear 180 on his previous statements accusing Haney of expunging his record. “For me, I’m fighting him. I don’t care what you got. It’s me and you.
“I look at him now. That’s who I’m fighting. So I don’t care about all his past sh**. I’m looking at him, and that’s what I’m looking forward to.“
As Matchroom CEO Eddie Hearn, who also served as the official MC during the presser, had highlighted during the pre-match press conference between British fighters Leigh Wood and Josh Warrington, he referenced power as a potential deciding factor between the two Americans; a point which Prograis seemed to dismiss in favor of his skillset, similar to when Wood did the same when asked a similar question.
“I believe I have the power to take anybody out,” Prograis said. “I think he’s going to be surprised [at] the skill.
“I’ve been working my a** off. I’ve been to L.A. sparring, training, doing all that sh**, in Texas sparring, all that sh**, a long time ago. So it’s not going to be skill versus power. It’s going to be skill versus skill, and I want to show people the skill.“
Haney and Prograis will be fighting at super lightweight where the latter’s WBC world title will be put on the line for the second time after Prograis’ first successful title defense against Danielito Zorilla (17-2, 13 KO’s) in June. Prograis first won the WBC super lightweight title in November of 2022, after stopping fellow American contender Jose Zepeda to claim the then-vacant title.
Devin Haney will be fighting at 140 lbs for the first time in his career, which raises questions about what will happen to his world titles at 135 lbs, of which he still holds three. He was already forced to vacate his WBC lightweight title to be put as the champion in recess because of his super lightweight fight with Prograis. A victory over Prograis could lead to Haney relinquishing the rest of his titles once he captures the WBC super lightweight belt.
The Chase Center will host the highly-anticipated battle between the two Americans on December 9th, and it may determine the course of the entire super lightweight division depending on the winner’s performance.
