Regis Prograis signs with Matchroom, will face Liam Paro on June 17

Regis Prograis has officially signed with Matchroom Boxing, it was announced tonight during the Canelo vs Ryder broadcast, and will make his debut with the company on June 17.

Prograis will defend the WBC 140 lb title against Liam Paro in New Orleans.

The 34-year-old Prograis has had something of a mismanaged career following his loss to Josh Taylor in the World Boxing Super Series final in 2019, which was a terrific fight. He had a one-off with Premier Boxing Champions in 2020, then a fight with Triller in 2021, before one with Probellum in 2022, and a bout with MarvNation last November, where he beat Jose Zepeda for the vacant WBC title.

He’s really one of boxing’s most exciting, charismatic fighters, but just hasn’t had the stage to display that much, and at his age, the time to do so and make the best money possible at 140 is now.

The news also likely means there will be no “revisiting” of the Prograis vs Jose Ramirez fight, which was ordered to take place after Prograis beat Zepeda, but Ramirez and his team balked at the money that would have been offered their side in a theoretical purse bid that never actually happened, and put out the idea that they’d do the fight later this year, for better money.

Paro (23-0, 14 KO) is a 27-year-old Australian and a fellow southpaw, a guy who’s been trying to get a bigger name to fight him but nobody has. To be fair to those guys, Paro has little name value and there’s not a ton of money in fighting him.

He’s also not really seen as a true top contender at 140, with his best wins coming over the likes of Yomar Alamo and Brock Jarvis, but he is a guy who has been trying to make his move, and now he has a big opportunity.