As WBC ‘diamond’ champion Regis Prograis (23-0, 19 KOs) heads into his World Boxing Super Series’ semifinals match against Kiryl Relikh (23-2, 19 KOs) tomorrow night on DAZN, the junior welterweight reiterates to the public that he joined to tournament in order to make a name for himself, one that will outlast his living days.
“Legacy never dies. This will be here way when I’m just ashes and gone,” Prograis told local TV Station, KATC, at the press conference.
“That’s why I signed up for the tournament. It’s a big risk and reward at the same time. It’s real fights. You can’t duck people, you have to fight. It’s a big reward at the end, at the end of the rainbow is the pot of gold.”
Prograis is two wins away from taking home the Muhammad Ali trophy and obviously some good purse money, but his path to the championship won’t come easy. He’ll first have to beat Relikh who is coming off of wins over Rances Barthelemy and Eduard Troyanovsky last year, and then take on the winner of Josh Taylor-Ivan Baranchyk.
Should Prograis finish out the tournament on top there will be little discussion that he is in fact the best junior welterweight in the world. In the meantime, though, he says he’s expecting the best version of his opponent tomorrow night, saying that mindset helps him mentally prepare for anything that may happen in the ring.