REGIS PROGRAIS knows that on Saturday night he must deliver an emphatic win over Danielito Zorrilla.
The 34-year-old is fighting at home in New Orleans for the first time since beating Terry Flanagan five years ago.
The super-lightweight division is one of the hottest in boxing and Teofimo Lopez proved his credentials by beating Josh Taylor in New York last weekend.
In an interview with his new promoter Matchroom Prograis admitted to feeling the pressure ahead of his return to The Big Easy.
“There’s pressure on me already as I’m fighting at home in New Orleans, my people are coming to see me. And yes, Teo has done his thing against Josh, so I still feel that I am the best at 140lbs, but Teo deserves his credit, and I give that to him. So, I must go out and look great and prove I am the best, and then we can get that fight so there will be no doubt..”
While it is up for debate who is the number one Prograis is adamant he beats all his rivals.
“You can’t control what people think. Some may say I’m the best, some will now say Teo, Subriel Matias, some might even say Rolly. I still feel I’m the best; you put me in with Rolly, I beat him. Put me in with Teo, I beat him. Put me in with Matias, I beat him. We can’t prove that until we fight, but that’s how I feel, and the only way to prove it is to fight each other.”
Devin Haney is another name to add to the 140lbs boiling pot. The number one lightweight could be moving up a division and has already contacted Eddie Hearn about making the Prograis fight.
Add Romero, Matias and Jack Catterall and a list of future options begins to emerge. However, if he takes his eye off the ball against his Puerto Rican opponent in two days then everything falls apart.
“It’s not hard to focus because when you fight someone that people say is lesser than you, those are the dangerous fights and the hard ones as you don’t know what they have got, and you need to perform against them,” said Prograis. “People do pull off upsets.
“I’m not looking past him, but you have in your mind that there’s massive fights out there, but I know that I won’t get to them unless I take care of my business on Saturday. So, until then, I don’t think about anyone else because you might not get there.”
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