Lance Pugmire brings word of a brewing clash between super lightweights Oscar Duarte and Regis Prograis, which is eyed for February 15th in Anaheim, California.
Duarte (28-2-1, 22 KO) is best-known for a 2023 loss to Ryan Garcia that saw him walk into a check hook in the eighth, but while his subsequent drubbing of JoJo Diaz may not mean much at this point, he deserves credit for a hard-fought win over the underrated Batyr Akhmedov in November.
“Rougarou” (29-3, 24 KO) is in very different straits, badly underwhelming in back-to-back losses to Devin Haney and Jack Catterall. He seemingly lost the athleticism so key to his style immediately after smoking Jose Zepeda in November 2022 and doesn’t seem capable of adjusting to compensate.
The good news for him is that he won’t have to chase Duarte, who’s more than happy to march right into the fire. There’s a very good chance this turns into a banger between two ferocious-but-vulnerable sluggers.