Interview
Boxer Regis Prograis: ‘Ali was a three-time champion’
“Istill love being a fighter,” Regis Prograis says as, at the age of 35, the two-time former world champion prepares for another testing battle in Manchester on Saturday night. The American super-lightweight, having excelled in the division for eight years, will fight Jack Catterall, who has lost only once, and controversially, in 30 bouts.
Prograis has endured two defeats in 31 contests and his resolve and ambition will be examined again following a comprehensive loss in his most recent contest against Devin Haney. That humbling defeat cost him his WBC world title. But Prograis is typically upbeat while finding fresh purpose in this hard old business.
He stresses his love of boxing “is the reason why I’m still doing this. I really want to be a world champion again for the third time. That’s something I crave. I did it twice already but three is special. Three is legendary because Muhammad Ali was a three-time champion”.
The winner between Catterall and Prograis will almost certainly have earned himself another shot at a world title but, for once, the high stakes have not been accompanied by any needle or routine trash-talking. “Jack is super-friendly,” Prograis says in his laconic New Orleans drawl. “Really, really friendly. But I know we still have to fight.
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