Prograis vs Taylor: “King of the Ring” 

For those that don’t know or follow the WWE, they have a tournament called “King of the Ring” which leads to the “winner” being the “next” guy that gets the heavy marketing and promotion push from the company. The World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) successfully set up (although there were some financial issues along the way that seem to have been cleaned up) a tournament similar to the “King of the Ring” in an effort to establish a definitive champion in the Super Lightweight division pushing that fighter to being the “next” star of the sport. 

On Saturday night, live from the 02 arena in London, undefeated WBA & WBC (Diamond) Super Lightweight Champion Regis “Rougarou” Prograis (24-0) will be going up against undefeated IBF & WBC (Silver) Super Lightweight Champion Josh “The Tartan Tornado” Taylor (15-0). 

There has been a ton of excitement for this one since the fight was officially announced as it will be a unification title fight and one that will provide the winner with the kind of marketing and promotion boost that both men desire in an effort to make a “super” fight with WBC and WBO Super Lightweight champion Jose Ramirez. 

First things first, the WBSS final which will award the winner the Ali Trophy, the Ring Magazine title and will also become the Unified Super Lightweight champion. Let’s take a look at both fighters and what their strengths and vulnerabilities are going into this fight. 

Dibella Entertainment’s own Regis Prograis…

..is a tough southpaw from New Orleans that has a boxing style that reminds you of guys that fought in the early 1900’s. There is nothing flashy about him and when you see him fight, he has one thing on his mind and that is to beat the other guy up. 

Prograis’ strength is that he mentally discourages his opponents by keeping his right hand down, absorbing shots and showing that he cannot be hurt by them. After winning the mental aspect of it, he pumps that right jab as if he were Apollo Creed from the movie “Rocky.”  The jab is what sets up the straight left down the middle or the left hook to the body that lands quick and hard. These combinations start to wear his opponents down and eventually leads to a stoppage. Prograis also fights really well on the inside and throws punishing blows to the body that helps wear down his opponents. 

His weakness or where he is vulnerable, is when he leaves his right hand low that leads to him getting hit more often than one would like to see from a champion at that level. Prograis walks his opponents down but that can be a mistake when fighting a guy like the southpaw Josh Taylor, who also has a great jab and moves well around the ring. 

I can see Prograis really bringing the fight to Taylor and possibly looking for a late stoppage as a decision may not go in Prograis’ favor due to him being the “visitor.”

In order to properly analyze Josh Taylor…

…I reached out to SpitBallingpod.com ‘s own Colin Morrison, who resides in Scotland and has been following “The Tartan Tornado” since the early part of his career. This is what the guy that goes by “Morrie” had to say about Taylor: 

“Josh Taylor brings plenty of strengths to the table. The Scotsman can box at range if required but he excels when the action is up close in the pocket. The southpaw has speed, power and shot variety at his disposal. His combination punching certainly makes his “Tartan Tornado” nickname accurate and I believe he is one of the best body punchers in boxing right now. Once he feels he is on top of an opponent Taylor’s top class stamina allows him to press home the advantage, remaining on the front foot until a stoppage arrives or failing that piling up round after round on the scorecards. Confidence and mental strength are also an asset Taylor will take into his toughest contest on Saturday – Prograis is a quality operator but Taylor won’t be intimidated one bit.

Strangely this could work against him in the Ali trophy showdown. The only real weakness I can see in Taylor is his desire to always want to have a tear-up. So far this style has served him well but it may be a dangerous approach against the American this weekend. Prograis has power in abundance so Taylor may have to adjust the high pressure style that leaves him open to counters from time to time. I think the fact that he was cut last time out against Baranchyk could lead to us seeing a slightly more cautious Taylor, at least initially. Inevitably though it will get rough and both guys will land big shots – it could be defence and ability to take the other man’s best shots which decide who wins this fascinating fight. “ 

What seems to have all of the makings of a “battle of the ages,” Regis Prograis and Josh Taylor are looking to become a unified champion, push their profile to star levels and set up a record pay day fight with Jose Ramirez in 2020. Will we see the “Rougarou” better the “Tartan Tornado”  or do we see the “Tartan Tornado” destroying everything in its path? 

You don’t want to miss this exciting unification match live on DAZN this Saturday! The card starts at 11am PST / 2pm EST. 

Follow me @abeg718 and Colin Morrison @Morrie1981  on Twitter.