by Keith Idec
Regis Prograis was more surprised than anyone when Devin Haney landed a right hand that caused a knockdown during the third round of their fight.
The former WBA and WBC 140-pound champion was knocked off balance. He spun around and used his right glove to keep from completely falling to the canvas, but Haney’s well-placed punch caused an official knockdown approximately 47 seconds into the third round last December 9 at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Prograis (29-2, 24 KOs), the supposed puncher in their junior welterweight title fight, didn’t score a knockdown. In fact, he lost every round according to judges Rey Danesco, Mike Ross and Fernando Villarreal, each of whom scored Haney a 120-107 winner of their DAZN Pay-Per-View main event.
Prograis got up almost immediately from that flash knockdown and informed referee Jack Reiss that he was fine to continue. Nearly 11 months later, Prograis – who will fight Jack Catterall on Saturday night at Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England – still can’t understand how Haney put him down.
“It was really the movement,” Prograis told Boxing News when asked how Haney troubled him. “Like, with the knockdown, I was like, ‘What?’ It was crazy because the softest puncher I ever fought put me down. I don’t know how. I don’t know to explain it. Like, I’ve been hit by big punchers and it don’t do nothing to me.
“That’s why it shows you it’s all in the mind. People look at my record, and I’ve been hit by way bigger punchers and nothing happened to me. But Devin is probably the softest puncher I ever fought, and he put me down. So, for me, it was just like the mind thing.”
Chorley’s Catterall (29-1, 13 KOs) has a knockout percentage comparable to that of Haney (31-0, 15 KOs, 1 NC). Jamie Moore, Catterall’s trainer, respects Prograis’ power, yet he assured anyone who doubts Catterall’s strength that he, too, punches hard.
“Another reason why we went with Regis was because we know the styles will blend for the great fight,” Moore said during their press conference Thursday in Manchester. “People are always sleeping on Jack’s power. You know, he’s never gonna be a Golovkin. He’s not that type of fighter, but when he hits you, believe me, you know about it.
“And we have a hell of a lot of respect for Regis. The reason why we’re here tonight is because we’ve got respect for him. We know how good he is, we know what he’s achieved, we know the power that he possesses and the danger he brings. But that’s gonna bring the best out in Jack Catterall.”
DAZN will stream the 12-round, non-title bout between Catterall, 31, and Prograis, 35, as a main event worldwide. The streaming service’s undercard coverage is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. GMT in the UK and 2 p.m. ET in the United States.
