Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London, England, IBF champion Josh Taylor (16-0, 12 KOs), from Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, outpointed champion WBA champion Regis Prograis (24-1, 20 KOs), from New Orleans, Louisiana, to unify the super lightweight titles.
The final scores after 12 scintillating rounds were 117-112, 115-113, and 114-114.
Fighting out of the red corner in blue and green tartan trunks, 28-year-old Taylor went to work at the opening bell. He was disciplined, accurate, and composed, pressing the action and fighting according to a game plan well conceived in advance.
Thirty-year-old Prograis, fighting out of the blue corner in black and white trunks, was no less disciplined, accurate and composed, but he often fought moving backward, avoiding the superior height and longer reach of the man he was fighting.
The fighters were evenly matched. The fight had endless ebbs and flows. Both men rocked the other several times. Prograis went to the body early in hopes of slowing his man down, while Taylor landed punches upstairs and down at a blistering pace.
The inside work was exceptional. When fighters tangle at close quarters, the action usually drags to a halt and the ref has to disentangle them. But not when Taylor and Prograis got at it. Their inside fighting was as integral as their fighting at long range, as one slid effortlessly into the other and back again, an eloquent lesson in the resuscitation of an almost lost art.
There were several possible rounds to choose from, but the ninth was positively thrilling. Prograis? nose was bleeding. He had a small cut over one eye. His energy, that effective bobbing and weaving and mercurial footwork, was beginning to flag. Taylor?s right eye was closing and fast. By the time the fighters entered the championship rounds, he could no longer see the lead left hands (both fighters are southpaws) headed his way.
But he never stopped firing back.
Josh Taylor left nothing to chance. He left everything in the ring.
?What a fight,? he said to Sky Sports. ?Regis is a great champion, but the best man won. He was very good, very strong and had good timing, but I knew I could get to him inside. He lived up to his name and he is a great fighter. I knew I could beat him with the jab alone, but he had me himself so respect to him.?
Prograis was gracious. He took the loss like a true champion.
?The better man won on the night,? he said. ?No excuses, but I will be back. I am pretty sure Josh enjoyed it, hopefully we can do part two.?
