REGIS PROGRAIS (SHOULDER) INJURED, FEB. 15 OSCAR DUARTE CLASH IN JEOPARDY
Oscar Duarte still has a fight date but may need a new dance partner for his Valentine’s Day weekend headliner.
The Ring has learned that Regis Prograis has suffered a shoulder injury and is potentially out of his scheduled Feb. 15 DAZN main event against Mexico’s Duarte.
Representatives from Golden Boy Promotions—who will present the event—did not immediately respond to an inquiry seeking confirmation. However, The Ring was informed via two sources that Prograis—a former two-time 140-pound titlist—underwent an MRI, with the results to confirm the severity of the injury.
Prograis (29-3, 24 KOs) and Duarte (28-2-1, 22 KOs) were due to meet in a scheduled 12-round junior welterweight clash at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Duarte hoped to keep the positive momentum going after two notable wins in 2024.
The 29-year-old slugger from Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico stopped former 130-pound titlist Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz (33-5-1 at the time) in the ninth round last April 27 in Fresno, California. It came less than five months after his valiant showing in a Dec. 2023 eighth-round stoppage to Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs; 1 No-Contest).
Duarte followed the win over Diaz with a ten-round, unanimous decision over bubble contender Batyr Akhmedov (10-4, 9 KOs) last Nov. 16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bout was part of Golden Boy’s first Riyadh Season show.
Prograis’ career has headed in the opposite direction. In fact, it was believed that he would stick to his retirement promise prior to agreeing to terms to face Duarte.
The 35-year-old southpaw announced his exit from the sport immediately after his lopsided defeat to England’s Jack Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs), The Ring’s No. 2 140-pound contender, on Oct. 26 in Manchester, England.
Prograis—New Orleans-born and now based in the greater Houston, Texas area—suffered his second straight defeat and subsequently admitted that he could no longer compete at the sport's elite level. He previously landed on the wrong end of a 12-round shutout to Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs; 1 No-Contest) in Dec. 2023.
A five-fight win streak was snapped, in addition to the end of his WBC 140-pound title reign. Prograis also held the WBA belt, which he lost to then-unbeaten Josh Taylor (15-0 at the time) in their Oct. 2019 World Boxing Super Series finale and WBA/IBF unification bout in London.
The main event development comes just as Golden Boy not only confirmed the show but full undercard details as well. Houston-based rising super middleweight Darius Fulghum (13-0, 11 KOs) faces Detroit’s Winfred Harris (22-2-2, 10 KOs) in a scheduled ten-round co-feature.
