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By: Hans Themistode
The 2020 boxing schedule was turned upside down the moment COVID-19 announced it’s presence. Contests such as Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury 3 and Teofimo Lopez vs Vasiliy Lomachenko were thought to be impossible to make until at least 2021. Thankfully for fans though, promoter Bob Arum assured the public that those contests will in fact take place.
Wilder vs Fury has a tentative date of mid December, while Lomachenko vs Lopez is currently eyed for September 19th.
Unlike those newly rescheduled matchups, a contest between former 140 pound champions in Regis Prograis and Maurice Hooker, which was originally set to take place on April 17th, at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, has gone by the wayside.
A matchup between the two former belt holders was amongst the most anticipated contests of the pre COVID-19 year. Plans to salvage the bout via a closed door event was recently discussed between both parties.
However, discussions never materialized into a new fight date as constant back and forth bickering over weight closed negotiations early.
Prograis immediately pointed the finger at his opponent, claiming that Hooker wasn’t “professional” amongst other choice words.
Now that their contest is dead in the water, Hooker has opened up about exactly what happened.
“I decided to move up to 147,” said Hooker on FightHub. “In my last two or three fights I’ve been having trouble making 140. Me making 140 takes a big toll on me on fight night. So I decided to move up to 147. I told Regis and them and he was just like he’s not going up to 147. So he said let’s do it at 144 and I told him that’s still too low. But he just kept trying to call shots like he’s Floyd Mayweather or something.”
“We both don’t have a belt so we can fight at whatever weight we want to. I told him let’s do 145 and he just kept saying nah 144 so I just left it alone. If you really want to fight me then you’ll just come up to 145. What’s one more pound? He really don’t want to fight.”
For Hooker, the back and forth discussion over weight was pointless. Making the 140 pound limit was taking a “big toll” on the 6 ft former champions body. And while 145 pounds wouldn’t be easy, Hooker was willing to acquiesce for one reason and one reason only.
“I’m willing to die making weight, just so I can get my hands on him,” explained Hooker. “I just want to beat the guy.”
Animosity in the boxing world is often manufactured as a way to sell tickets to the viewing public. But in the case of Hooker and Prograis, the genuine dislike for one another is as real as it gets.
“I will slap the shit out of that dude,” said Hooker. “He’s a coward. When he sees me in person he’s going to shut up, he won’t say shit. I promise he won’t say shit because I will slap that dude. When he sees me he better keep that same energy. And if he do, I’m a slap him.”
With their contest officially in the rear view mirror, fans can only imagine how things would have played out. For Hooker though, he doesn’t have to assume how their matchup was going to unfold. It’s clear as day for the former title holder.
“I was going to stop him. I was going to hurt him.”
