Prograis vs. Zepeda Preview
The vacant WBC junior welterweight title will be on the line in Carson, California on Saturday November 26th. Former WBA champion Regis Prograis will battle former title challenger Jose Zepeda.
Prograis (27-1, 23 KO) has won three straight fights by TKO since losing a majority decision to Josh Taylor for the WBA title in 2019. The 33-year-old is confident he has better all-around skills than his opponent on Saturday. “Zepeda's never fought a southpaw this elusive, a southpaw that is strong like I am, a southpaw that has defense and a southpaw who has a chin on top of that,” Prograis said.
The New Orleans native continued, “I feel like you can hit me with anything, it's not going to do anything. But the main thing is he hasn't fought a workhorse like me, it is one of my strongest suits. I work so hard in training camp, I kill myself. And on top of that, there is my hunger.”
Prograis wants to be considered one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. “When people introduce me, they do so as 'the former champ' you but I want to be the current champion, and not only that, I want to be known as the best in the world in my division,” Prograis said.
“That is even more important to me than being a champion, it's to be the best in the world in my division.
“There will always be debates but after Saturday, my name will be really, really high on the list. You have other fighters that are good, but I think after Saturday, my name should be at the top of the 140lbs list.”
Zepeda (35-2-2, 27 KO) has won five straight fights and has not lost since 2019. He most recently defeated Josue Vargas by first round TKO last October. The 33-year-old is willing to go to war with Prograis.
“I don’t think I have to tell you if he’s brave or not. You guys know that. I don’t have to tell you that I’m brave. If anything happens, I’m going to get up and go back to fighting, and he’s going to do the same thing,” said Zepeda.
“If he gets dropped, he’s going to come back. That’s why I keep saying ‘Fight of the year,’ and all the boxing experts know that.”
Zepeda is driven to be a champion after failing in his first two attempts. “That only gives me more motivation,” said Zepeda. “If I was able to get three opportunities for a world title, it means I’m doing things right.
“Nobody just gets three opportunities for no reason. So it means I’m doing something right each time I’m progressing, and the two times that I lost, in my book, inside the ring, I haven’t lost.
“In my first title fight, my first loss [to Terry Flanagan in 2015], that was a shoulder dislocation. In the second one [against Jose Ramirez in 2019], many people thought I won. So, I believe inside the ring; I haven’t lost a flight; I’m undefeated,” said Zepeda.
The fight can be seen on PPV.
