Regis Prograis – A Boxing Intellectual Walking Away At The Right Time
Regis Prograis has always been a unique and interesting figure in the world of modern professional boxing.
Parts of his story are typical of many fighters who first enter a boxing gym and eventually reach the top of the sport; he overcame childhood poverty, and as a teenager, he and his family lost everything to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Boxing was a route to a better life.
But there is much more to Prograis than his boxing accolades, which among them include two reigns as a super-lightweight world champion.
The New Orleans native, whose nickname “Rougarou” is Louisiana French for ‘werewolf’ – a homage to his grandfather of Native American descent – is an intellectual and deep-thinker. He is an avid student and historian of boxing, learning from fighters of the past, partly to enhance his own career but mainly to avoid the pitfalls that have left many prizefighters penniless and robbed of their health.
Prograis is obsessed with psychology and speaks candidly about the nerves and tension he feels in the lead-up to a big fight. He is a passionate advocate of radical change to boxing’s anti-doping policies. He speaks fluent Portuguese (his wife is Brazilian), and prides himself on being a dedicated family man (he is a father of three).
Prograis Inspired By George Foreman
He met his wife Raquel not at the height of his fame and fortune but when he was still grinding in the lower reaches of the sport, admitting in his 2023 book Stories & Lessons From Regis Prograis that he “only had a couple hundred dollars to my name” when his first child, Ray, was born. Once Prograis started making substantial money from boxing, he became a real estate investor and now owns a large property portfolio.
A fighter who has dedicated his life to boxing, Prograis has maintained a realistic relationship with a sport that has often not loved him back. It makes sense, then, that Prograis picks former heavyweight champion George Foreman as his boxing inspiration because “he was always happy with who he was outside boxing. He had a bunch of kids, made a lot of money and seemed so fulfilled.”
So, in the immediate aftermath of his defeat to Jack Catterall in Manchester, England on Saturday night, it came as no surprise to watch Prograis speak with clarity, honesty, and dignity about his future.
“Jack was the better man,” said Prograis, 35. “He deserves a world-title fight. I’ll be honest – I’ve fought the best of them. I think Jack is probably the top guy I fought. [Promoters] Eddie Hearn, Sam Jones; give this man a world-title shot – he definitely deserves it.
“I had my time in the sun and now it’s my turn to hand over to him. Good job, Jack. I think for now – I’ll go to bareknuckle and do something else, and let the young guys take over.”
Unlucky Loss To Taylor
Should Prograis decide now is the right time to hang up his gloves, he will do so following a thoroughly fulfilling career. He turned pro in 2012 in his adopted city of Houston – his family moved there after Katrina – and soon showed plenty of signs of the talent that would take him to the pinnacle.
Porgrais collected his first title in his 16th fight when he became the North American super-lightweight champion in December 2015 and established himself at world level in March 2018 by winning the WBC’s interim belt.
Four months later, Rougarou became world champion for the first time, stopping Juan Jose Velasco in the eighth round in front of his home fans in New Orleans. Two defenses followed before he booked a unification bout with then-IBF champion Josh Taylor in October 2019 in London.
In a Fight of the Year contender, Prograis was desperately unlucky not to have at least earned a draw with Taylor, instead falling to his first loss via majority decision.
Such is the fickle nature of boxing, Prograis found himself in the wilderness for the subsequent three years as he flitted between various promotional companies; not helped by the pandemic, he fought just three times.
Prograis Can Leave Boxing Fulfilled
Rougarou managed to engineer a second shot at the big time by challenging for the vacant WBC title against Jose Zepeda in November 2022, stopping his opponent in the 11th round to become a two-time world champion.
However, the power and athleticism that symbolized his first reign as a champion looked to be fading. Prograis retained the title with an unimpressive split-decision win over Danielito Zorrilla in July last year, before a loss to Devin Haney five months later in which the champion was totally dominated.
Facing Catterall on Saturday felt like a final roll of the dice for Prograis and he came up short, losing a wide decision having twice visited the canvas in the ninth round.
Every fighter must eventually come face to face with the end of his career. Many stay in denial and fight on too long, either due to a belief they have one more fight in them or because they failed to safeguard their future.
Prograis is in a position every boxer dreams of; he can walk away from the fight game with a world champion legacy, his financial future secured, and his physical and mental health intact. In this most dangerous of sports, that is worth more than any accolades.
