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Boxers, says the old adage, must train 1,000 hours for each round of play.
If that's the case, Regis Prograis has plenty of time at the bank.
The fights were scheduled for 52 rounds combined. Instead, they lasted 10, all knockouts by the undefeated New Orleans defending its WBC super lightweight title against Juan Jose Velasco, also undefeated from Argentina on Saturday night at Lakefront Arena.
The knockouts came first, fourth, first, second and second rounds, respectively, the most recent against the two-time world champion Julius Indongo in March to win the title. Of the 21 Prograis wins since he's turned pro in 2012, 18 have ended early.
Prograis's last fight was a unanimous eight-round decision against Amos Cowart, who was unbeaten almost three years ago. He has never been upset or in trouble.
This is a major reason why Prograis is the world's highest ranked 140-pounder, behind only Jose Carlos Ramirez, with whom he shares the WBC title
. I do not want to say that I'm looking for knockouts, but it's a tough affair that involves hurting people, "said Prograis after a training session at the New Orleans Boxing Club on Wednesday. Mike Tyson is my idol, and he wasted no time.
"If I hit someone early and I know I hurt him, then I know I have him."
That's what happened in the Indongo fight. Prograis shifted Indongo with a short right on the first lap, keeping his biggest opponent on the defense for the rest of the round with body shots.
Then in the second round, Prograis slipped a shot and landed a big fresh right down. After another knockdown, the referee stopped the fight.
And even though Indongo had been eliminated in the third round of his previous fight, a unification fight against Terrence Crawford, Indongo's first defeat in 20 fights, Prograis again expressed his surprise. was able to finish things faster than Crawford, who has since evolved into the light welterweight and is considered one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world.
"I could get closer and I knew I was hurting some lefts fast," said Prograis of Indongo. But I never thought to reach it as fast.
"I felt as if I had totally destroyed it."
Prograis is an aggressive fighter, using balance, angles and power to keep the pressure on his opponents. If he can not reach the head of the other, then he will be content with the chest, ribs or belly.
But he's still there, right in front of his opponent, denying him the space to knock
a style that Prograis has developed since he's teamed up with Houston's Bobby coach Benton after his first fights, even though they all ended in victory.
"He was still a raw child when he came to see me". "But it was hard as nails, and once I started working with him on things like head movement and not being touched, he really happened."
The Bonano, two of the first Prograis fights at Metairie and the other at Gretna Heritage Fest, is the event coordinator for Saturday 's card. He noticed the change too.
"He's just a different guy now," said Bonano. "When he started, he was good, but not great.
"You have to give Bobby the credit of having him evolve so fast into a very good fighter. He had the power, but now he has the movements and pivots that allow him to stay close and get his shots. "
Velasco, who is not ranked despite his record of 20-0, acknowledged what he is doing.He is a southpaw he is fast he has a stealth shot that you do not see coming and he has power, "said Velasco. "You have to assume that he is able to live up to it."
But Miami-based coach Herman Cascedo, who has worked with Velasco for the past 12 weeks, said his fighter does not plan to fight purely "If he starts backing off, he's already lost, "he said. "And he will not stay in the middle of the ring, drop his hands see if the other guy can knock him out." 19659002 "" I know we are the underdog and many people look at this as a layup for Regis. But Juan had a long and difficult camp, and his record shows that he can also punch. "
For his part, Prograis said that he was looking at Velasco as he had all his opponents – the hardest he had ever faced.
" You never know who will push you to your limit, then you have to fight each time to reach that limit, "he said." I've never had a problem in a fight, but when that will arrive, I will be ready to face it. That's why you put in the work. "
And even though 12,000 hours for a 12-round bout comes out more than four years old when it's split in eight hours without any, it's a good bet that Prograis – and Velasco – have put in the time for this one.
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