By Charles Brun: Eddie Hearn has failed to get the talented Arnold Barboza for Regis Prograis to defend his WBC light welterweight title against on June 17th, so he’s now resigned to facing second-tier fighter Danielito Zorilla on that date in the main event on DAZN at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Prograis was initially scheduled to defend against the unbeaten contender Liam Paro, but he injured his Achilles during training and couldn’t take the fight.
That would have been an excellent opponent for Prograis because the southpaw Paro can punch, and he’s arguably more talented and powerful than Josh Taylor, who beat Regis in 2019, albeit by a controversial 12 round majority decision in London, England.
Did Prograis make a mistake signing with Hearn?
Prograis could have signed with Top Rank and been fighting these talents:
- Arnold Barboza
- Jose Ramirez
- Devin Haney
- Josh Taylor
- Teofimo Lopez
Instead, Prograis is facing the obscure fighter Zorilla, and who knows after that?
Hearn had talked about wanting to get the unbeaten contender Andy Hiraoka for Prograis (28-1, 24 KOs) if he couldn’t get Barboza to take the fight, but it looks like he failed on that as well.
This is a disappointing opponent for Prograis because Zorilla isn’t ranked in the top 15 by any of the sanctioning bodies, and it would seem that Regis is no better off from having signed with Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing stable. It’s not as if Prograis’ former promoter couldn’t dig up second-tier non-contenders for him to face.
Zorilla (17-1, 13 KOs) was soundly beaten by Barboza last year in July, losing by a lopsided 10-round unanimous decision in Temecula, California.
Barboza was open to taking the fight against Prograis on thee weeks’ notice, but it had to be for the correct numbers. It would appear that Barboza didn’t like the money offered because he would have agreed to the fight if it were for the life-changing green stuff.
“We have waited for this opportunity for a long time in my career, and it has finally arrived,” said Zorrilla. “I am ready to be a world champion; I am grateful to Prograis for giving me the opportunity, but on June 17, there will be a new World champion.
“I’ve been watching Prograis for a long time, and I know his style; I know I have the talent and ability to win by any means. The world will know who Zorro is.”
Prograis, 34, recently signed a multi-fight deal with Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing company, and he was excited about it, believing that it would lead to massive fights. Instead, he’s fighting Zorilla, a fighter that Barboza already beat, with no notable names on his resume.
Assuming Prograis wins this fight against Zorilla, it’ll be interesting to see who Heaarn digs up for his next title defense. If it’s another no-name, you’d have to conclude that his career will stagnate with Hearn and likely wind up not re-signing with him.
Read more
