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By: Hans Themistode
The thought of fighting Gervonta Davis never crossed his mind. But once the Baltimore native announced that he was moving up to 140 pounds to face Mario Barrios for his WBA “Regular” Jr welterweight world title, the wheels in the mind of Regis Prograis began churning.
Davis (25-0, 24 KOs) officially made his debut in his new weight class last night at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta Georgia, dropping Barrios three times before ultimately stopping him in the 11th. Prograis, a former belt holder at the weight class, admits that he was tuned in from the opening bell to the violent ending and tips his cap to Davis for picking up the win. With that said, he firmly believes that if he were the one in that ring, it would have been a completely different story.
“I saw the Tank fight,” said Prograis during a self-recorded video. “Good fight Tank, solid opponent but he ain’t me. Don’t you ever say my name cause I guarantee I’ll smash you.”
Prograis, 32, was apoplectic, to say the least, when Davis vs. Barrios became a reality. The New Orleans native had originally pursued a showdown against Barrios but was led to believe that he was moving up in weight instead. That in turn, forced Prograis (26-1, 22 KOs) to hunt other options. What resulted from that, was a showdown against fringe contender Ivan Redkach, a matchup Prograis would go on to dominate and win via sixth-round stoppage earlier this year in April.
As for the knockout win picked up by Davis, Prograis wasn’t the least bit surprised. Although Davis was moving up from 130 pounds, Prograis never thought highly of Barrios in the first place and expected Davis to score the stoppage win.
In terms of what’s next, Davis had an inquisitive look on his face when asked if his next fight will be at 130, 135 or if he’ll opt to face bigger men at 140. Regardless of what he ultimately decides to do, Prograis won’t spend his time waiting by the phone expecting it to ring for an offer to fight Davis.
“I guarantee Floyd, Leonard Ellerbe and none of those mother f*ckers will ever let you close to me. I will f*cking knock you out little boy.”
