Philippines, 17 Sep 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


Regis Prograis: Big-Time Boxing in New Orleans is Back

PhilBoxing.com




Prograis to defend WBC super lightweight diamond belt against Juan Jose Velasco

Lightweight sensation Teofimo Lopez continues "The Takeover" against William Silva

LIVE on Saturday at the Lakefront Arena, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN

NEW ORLEANS (July 12, 2018) ? Regis "Rougarou" Prograis asked to fight in his hometown of New Orleans for a long time. After 21 bouts and more than six years as a pro, his wish is finally coming true.

The Prograis homecoming will occur Saturday evening at the Lakefront Arena, where he will defend the WBC super lightweight diamond belt against fellow unbeaten Juan Jose Velasco. And, in the co-feature, Brooklyn-bred Teofimo Lopez (9-0, 7 KOs) will take on William Silva (25-1, 14 KOs) for the vacant WBC Continental Americas lightweight title.

Prograis vs. Velasco and Lopez vs. Silva will be televised live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes at 7 p.m. ET.

The undercard will be streamed on ESPN+ beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET. Several young standouts will see action, including 2016 U.S. Olympian Charles Conwell (7-0, 5 KOs) in a six-round middleweight bout against Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native Travis Scott (19-3, 5 KOs), 2016 Olympic gold medalist Fazliddin Gaibnazarov (4-0, 2 KOs) versus fellow unbeaten Kevin Johnson (5-0, 4 KOs) in an eight-round lightweight bout; unbeaten 130-pound contender Erick De Leon (17-0-1, 10 KOs) against Adrian Young (25-4-2, 19 KOs) in a 10-rounder; and featherweight prospect Jean Carlos Rivera (13-0, 8 KOs) versus Angel Luna (12-4-1, 7 KOs) in a 10-round contest.

At Neyow's Palace, located only a couple miles from the French Quarter, the fighters gathered for the final press conference. Prograis and Lopez, as always, exhibited their gift of gab. This is what they, and many of the other combatants on Saturday's card, had to say.

Regis Prograis

"It's a dream to come here. The Lakefront Arena, I grew up right around the corner from there. Like, in the car, you'd get there literally in two minutes. Just to be headlining there, that's super important to me. I'm honored for it. I have to hide my excitement because I still have to fight. {Velasco} is going to try and knock me out, you know what I mean? So I gotta go out there and do my thing. I'm super excited. I might not show it, but I'm really excited to be fighting in my hometown, and not only that, my whole goal is to bring big-time boxing back to New Orleans. Not only a Regis Prograis fight, but one day we may get {Terence Crawford, who was seated in the audience} up here to fight. You know, one day, maybe me and {Crawford} might fight here at '47."

"I'm focused. There are no distractions for me. This is normal. This is a part of the game."

Teofimo Lopez

"It's about time {I stepped up the competition}. It's about time. I definitely want to showcase more of what I'm capable of doing. People have yet to see everything of me. Top Rank's matchmakers - Brad Goodman and Bruce Trampler - they're doing a hell of a job with me. This is a good step up. Definitely. Fighting a guy whose only defeat was with Felix Verdejo {in 2016}, and he went the distance with him. At the end of the day, I'm no Felix Verdejo."

Juan Jose Velasco

"I've had a tremendous training camp, and I am thankful for this opportunity. I am going to take advantage of it."

"Regis is a great fighter. To be a great champion, you need to fight the best fighters. And I want to prove that Saturday night, that I'm elite like him."

William Silva

"I'm ready for the fight. It's a real important fight. I had a real good training camp, and I'm ready to go."

Erick De Leon

"I can't wait to see all my fans. You guys are in for a really special treat. I can't wait to display my talent and everything I got, everything I worked for in camp. It's going to show Saturday, so make sure you're there early."

"I make adjustments. I can do it all in the ring. I'm available to capitalize and make adjustments, and that's what it's all about. Saturday, you are going to see a more complete fighter. You're going to see a more exciting fighter."

Jean Carlos Rivera

"I'm ready for the 10 rounds. We were supposed to fight Jose Haro for the USBA title and unfortunately he pulled out. Then, we were supposed to fight Viorel Simion, who has fought Scott Quigg and Lee Selby, in a 12-rounder, and unfortunately, he also pulled out. Now I'm fighting Angel Luna, and we're ready for whatever he brings."

Charles Conwell

"I feel as if my pro career is going real well. I've been active. I've been up against good, tough opponents, and I'm just growing and getting better as each fight goes on."


# # #

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with DiBella Entertainment, tickets, priced at $200 (ringside), $125 (floor), $75, and $40, are on sale now, and can be purchased at the Lakefront Arena box office, Ticketmaster.com and charge by phone at 800-745-3000. Discounts for military, students and New Orleans Police Department members ‑ $75 tickets for $50 and $40 seats for $25 ? are available when presenting valid ID at the Lakefront Arena box office.

For more information visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook:facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/trboxeo, facebook.com/espndeportes; Twitter:twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, @ESPN @ESPNBoxeo @RPrograis,@DiBellaEnt, @LouDibella @ESPNDeportes.

Use the hashtag #PrograisVelasco to join the conversation on social media.




Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • THE PAST WEEK IN ACTION 15 SEPTEMBER 2025: Crawford Snatches Canelo's Undisputed Crown at 168 Lbs; Inoue Defeats Akhmadliev to Retain 4 Superbantam Belts; Crocker Outpoints Donovan
    By Eric Armit, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • TICKET NEWS: EUBANK JR-BENN II ON SALE FROM THIS WEDNESDAY
    , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • “Night of Champions” Returns to Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando on September 19
    , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • Canelo-Crawford: The Consolidation of Boxing’s New Commercial Empire
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • A New Era for Boxing: Canelo vs. Crawford Shatters Global Viewership Records on Netflix
    By Dong Secuya, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • Crawford Not the First Lightweight to Distinguish Himself at Super Middleweight
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • Kurt Scoby and Josh Popper Headline Boxing Insider Card September 19 in Times Square
    , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • Green and Gold 2025: Amateur Boxing’s International Gathering in Bolivia
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • Pakistan's Sameer Khan Set to Battle for UBO Youth World Title in Brico Santig’s Sep 27 Show in Thailand
    By Carlos Costa, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • SAMBO Pilipinas is Southern NSA of the Year 2025
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • Kingsley “The Black Lion” Ibeh To headline historic “Legacy Nights” Inaugural Pro Boxing event in El Salvador
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • Smarts over power
    By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • HALL OF FAME FLIES FLAGS AT HALF-STAFF FOR TWO-DIVISION CHAMPION RICKY HATTON
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • Kazakhstan tops the medal table at the inaugural World Boxing Championships 2025 thanks to victory in the final bout of the competition
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 13: JOE FRAZIER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER
    By Maloney L. Samaco, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
    By Dong Secuya, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • 21-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
    By Carlos Costa, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
    , Sun, 14 Sep 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2025 philboxing.com.