Regis “Rougarou” Prograis (22-0, 19 KOs) made an impressive statement in front of his hometown crowd at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans by stopping former undefeated Argentinean boxer Juan Jose Velasco (20-1, 12 KOs) in the 8th round.
Prograis continued his rise to 140 pound supremacy with another stoppage, this time by forcing his will on his opponent by dropping Velasco with several body shots forcing him to quit.
The fight was lopsided and it was obvious in the corner that Velasco was begging his corner to call it off, he couldn’t take the pressure and abuse but his trainer kept him in the fight by telling him to keep trying.
The first body shot knockdown came in round five, the second one came in round seven and finally he got dropped again in number 8 forcing his corner to throw the towel in.
It was clear Prograis was motivated by fighting in front of his hometown and made sure to give the fans a show.
What makes Prograis special is his ability to use angles and pressure, he likes to finish opponents and always has destruction on his mind. He clearly has the power in the division.
His eyes are now set on the World Boxing Super Series junior welterweight tournament, but said he would like to face undefeated WBC light-welterweight champion Jose Ramirez, Vasyl Lomachenko or Manny Pacquiao if he beats Lucas Matthysse.
If he continues to dominant opponents, he could clean out the light-welterweight division and face the likes of Terence Crawford down the line at 147 pounds for a super fight between two undefeated boxers.
Prograis is managed by Hollywood Director/Producer Peter Berg, and if promoted and marketed right he could become a huge star in boxing especially with the backing of Berg who also trains boxing and owns the Wild Card West private boxing gym in Los Angeles.
