Regis Prograis is set to defend his WBC World Super-Lightweight championship against Danielito Zorrilla tonight at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event will be broadcasted live worldwide on DAZN.
With a professional record of 28-1 and 24 KOs, Prograis earned his status as a two-time World champion at 140lbs. His victory came after a phenomenal 11-round bout against Jose Zepeda at the prestigious Dignity Health in California this past November.
WHAT TIME IS PROGRAIS VS. ZORRILLA?
- Date: Saturday, June 17
- Time: 8 p.m. ET / 1 a.m. BST
- Main event ringwalks (approx): 10 p.m. ET / 3 a.m. BST
- The card will stream live on DAZN in over 200 countries across the globe.
- The fight will take place at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.
- The main card is scheduled to get underway at 8 p.m. ET / 1 a.m. BST with the main event ringwalks scheduled for 10p.m. ET / 3a.m. BST.
Hailing from New Orleans, Prograis had previously secured the WBA title at Super-Lightweight. He won the championship against Kiryl Relikh in a sixth-round knockout at the University of Louisiana in April 2019, during the semi-finals of the World Boxing Super Series. He then went on to face Josh Taylor in the series final at The O2 in London, in a thrilling match that was narrowly won by the Scotsman.
After facing and defeating opponents such as Juan Heraldez, Ivan Redkach, and Tyrone McKenna, the 34-year-old Prograis reclaimed victory with his win over Zepeda. Now, he’s set to step into the ring for his first home fight since October 2018. His ultimate goal is to take part in the unification fights he has long desired in the latter half of 2023, with his sights set on undisputed championship in 2024.
Zorrilla (17-1 13 KOs), promoted by boxing legend Miguel Cotto, is ready to disrupt those plans. The Puerto Rican has been presented with a golden chance to win his first World title on June 17, stepping in for the injured Liam Paro. Previously, the 29-year-old held the WBO NABO title at 140lbs, marked by a remarkable second-round knockout of Pablo Cesar Cano. His skills were further demonstrated during a fiercely competitive match against highly-touted Californian, Arnold Barbosa Jr. this past July.
“It’s not hard to focus because when you fight someone that people say is lesser than you, those are the dangerous fights and the hard ones as you don’t know what they have got, and you need to perform against them,” said Prograis. “People do pull off upsets.
“I’m not looking past him, but you have in your mind that there’s massive fights out there, but I know that I won’t get to them unless I take care of my business on Saturday. So, until then, I don’t think about anyone else because you might not get there.
“There’s pressure on me already as I’m fighting at home in New Orleans, my people are coming to see me. And yes, Teo has done his thing against Josh, so I still feel that I am the best at 140lbs, but Teo deserves his credit, and I give that to him. So, I must go out and look great and prove I am the best, and then we can get that fight so there will be no doubt.
“You can’t control what people think. Some may say I’m the best, some will now say Teo, Subriel Matias, some might even say Rolly. I still feel I’m the best; you put me in with Rolly, I beat him. Put me in with Teo, I beat him. Put me in with Matias, I beat him. We can’t prove that until we fight, but that’s how I feel, and the only way to prove it is to fight each other.”
Prograis defends his World title on a stacked night of action in New Orleans.
Unbeaten pair Shakhram Giyasov (13-0 9 KOs) and Harold Calderon (27-0 18 KOs) meet in an eliminator for the WBA Welterweight crown and Ramla Ali (8-0 2 KOs) defends her IBF Intercontinental Super-Featherweight title against Julissa Guzman (12-2-2 6 KOs).
Criztec Bazaldua (1-0) kicks off the night on Before the Bell against Elroy Fruto (1-1) over four rounds at Lightweight, Aaron Aponte (7-0-1 2 KOs) meets Xavier Madrid (4-2 2 KOs) over eight at Super-Lightweight, there’s an all-Lousiana bout between New Orleans’ Jeremy Hill (18-3 11 KOs) takes on Baton Rouge’s Mark Davis (19-1 5 KOs) over eight at Lightweight, and Houston-based 2020 Olympian Ginny Fuchs (2-0 1 KO), being advised by Prograis, fights for the third time in the paid ranks on the card against Indeya Smith (6-7-2 1 KO) over eight rounds at Super-Flyweight.
REGIS PROGRAIS VS. ZORRILLA FIGHT CARD
- From 5pm CT live on Before The Bell on DAZN and Matchroom’s YouTube channel
4 x 3 mins Lightweight contest
Criztec Bazaldua (136.4lbs) vs. Elroy Fruto (135.6lbs)
Los Angeles, California British Columbia, CanadaFollowed by
8 x 3 mins Super-Lightweight contest
Aaron Aponte (140lbs) vs. Xavier Madrid (138.5lbs)
Hialeah, FloridaAlbuquerque, New Mexico Followed by
8 x 2 mins Flyweight contest
Ginny Fuchs (113.4lbs) vs. Indeya Rodriguez (113.2lbs)
Houston, TexasNew Orleans, Louisiana Live worldwide on DAZN from 7pm CT
8 x 3 mins Lightweight contest
Jeremy Hill (135.6lbs) vs. Mark Davis (135.6lbs)
New Orleans, Louisiana Baton Rouge, LouisianaFollowed by
10 x 2 mins IBF Intercontinental and WBA Continental Americas Super-Bantamweight titles
Ramla Ali (122lbs) vs. Julissa Guzman (121.1lbs)
London, England Sonora, MexicoFollowed by
12 x 3 mins Eliminator for the WBA World Welterweight title
Shakhram Giyasov (146.1lbs) vs. Harold Calderon (146.2lbs)
Bukhara, UzbekistanMiami, Florida Followed by
12 x 3 mins WBC World Super-Lightweight title
Regis Prograis (139lbs) vs. Danielito Zorrilla (139lbs)
New Orleans, Louisiana Toa Baja, Puerto Rico