Josh Taylor and Regis Prograis will unify their world titles at the final of the World Boxing Super Series: Light Welterweight tournament at the O2 Arena in London. Taylor defeated Ivan Baranchynk in the semifinals while Prograis bested Kiryl Relikh in his final four assignment to set up this showdown.
The two were supposed to fight last October 5 but Prograis initially withdrew from the bout after rumors of the tournament facing financial problems. After legal issues were resolved, the fight is finally on and we are going to have some fun betting on boxing, so let’s find out who is the best 140-pound fighter on the planet today.
Josh Taylor is the IBF junior welterweight champion. He won that belt by defeating Ivan Baranchyk in the semi-finals of the World Boxing Super Series: Light Welterweight semifinals. This 2012 Olympian from Edinburgh, Scotland has a professional record of 15-0 with 12 knockouts. Taylor also owns wins over former world champions Viktor Postol and Miguel Vazquez. This 28-year old southpaw stands 5-10 and has a reach of 69.5 inches. Taylor is an aggressive, come-forward pressure fighter although he doesn’t really have terrific volume.
Regis Prograis is the current WBA light-welterweight champion. This 30-year old southpaw from New Orleans, Louisiana in the United States stands 5-8 and has a reach of 67 inches. Prograis has a record of 24-0 with 20 knockouts. He is ranked by The Ring as the world’s best active 140-pound fighter. Prograis has wins over former world champions Hector Velasquez, Julius Indongo and Terry Flanagan. In his WBSS semifinals match, Prograis defeated Kiryl Relikh of Belarus to win his first world title. He is a great offensive fighter who has good accuracy and timing. Prograis has good body shots but he has slow feet for a light-welterweight fighter.
You can make a case for both fighters here. After his win over Baranchyk, you have to believe that Taylor enters this fight with plenty of confidence, especially because he is fighting at home. Taylor also has a win over Postol so I think he has a better resume between the two. Neither of these fighters has been dropped before but I don’t think either has faced a big puncher before. That said, I think this fight will go 12 rounds. Taylor will start faster and he will be able to land that straight left early in the fight. Taylor’s foot speed and reach are going to be a problem for Prograis and this is going to make the fight interesting. However, Prograis is the better overall fighter and has more to show on offense. Taylor will slow down as the fight goes on and once Prograis gets his range, he is going to take over and win on points.
Prediction: Regis Prograis
Ricky Burns is one of three British boxers to win world titles in three different weight classes and is the only fighter from Scotland to do so. The 36-year old from Lanarkshire in Scotland has a record of 43-7-1 with 16 knockouts. Burns has won world titles at junior lightweight, lightweight and super lightweight. He is just 7-5-1 in his last 13 fights and although he won his last two bouts by stoppage, he lost to world level fighters Julius Indongo and Anthony Crolla in the two bouts prior to his twin victories. Burns has not fought since November 2018.
Lee Selby is the former IBF featherweight champion. The 32-year old is known as the Welsh Mayweather because of his slick boxing skills. Selby won the world title by beating Evgeny Gradovich in 2015. He made four successful title defenses before losing the belt to Josh Warrington in 2018. He moved up to lightweight and beat Omar Douglas in a competitive bout last February. Selby is 5-8 with a reach of 69.5 inches while fighting as an orthodox fighter. He has a record of 27-2 with 9 knockouts.
These are two fighters who are past their primes. However, it is Burns who is older and who is farther from his prime. When it comes to fighting at lightweight though, Burns has the advantage because he is a natural at this weight and is better here than he is at 140-pounds. While Selby isn’t a natural featherweight, he’s fought mostly at that weight class and has not fought a twelve-rounder above 126-pounds. But Selby is more talented than Burns. He is a more versatile boxer and has more skills. I think this will be a good fight. Burns will be the stronger fighter and he will be able to take Selby’s shots. However, I don’t think he will be able to hurt Selby as well and nor does Burns have the technical skills to beat Selby. Selby hasn’t proven himself at 135 pounds but he’s going to win the war here as he isn’t just the more talented fighter but he has been the more active boxer.
Prediction: Lee Selby
David Price is the former British and Commonwealth heavyweight boxing champion who was among the top heavyweight prospects at the start of this decade. However, after back to back knockout losses to Tony Thompson, his career has fizzled. He is coming off a win over fellow Brit Dave Allen whom he retired in 10 rounds to win the WBA continental title. Price has a record of 25-6 with 20 knockouts. He stands 6-8 tall and has a reach of 82 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance.
Dereck Chisora is a former heavyweight title contender. In 2012, he challenged Vitali Klitschko for the WBC title and lost via decision. The 35-year old from Zimbabwe-born Londoner has a record of 31-9 with 22 knockouts. He stands 6-2 and has a reach of 74 inches and fights as an orthodox fighter. Chisora is also a former WBA and WBO international champion and he holds notable wins over the likes of Danny Williams, Kevin Johnson, Carlos Takam, and Artur Szpilka who are all former world title challengers. Chisora is coming off a 2nd round KO win over Artur Szpilka last July.
If “War Chisora” shows up on Saturday, then I think that he is going to buzz David Price in an easy win here. However, this is the heavyweight division and stranger things have happened. David Price may have fallen too far from the rank of an elite but he may be one win away from getting back there and an aging Chisora is a perfect opponent for that. However, when I recall Price’s last fight, he defeated Dave Allen because Allen did not give Price the opportunity to settle down and control the fight. I think Chisora is by far more aggressive than Allen. I don’t like Chisora’s cocky attitude but he has the motor and the hand speed to out-work David Price here. It’s going to be interesting early but as in his previous losses, Price is going to get worn down as the rounds go by. Look for a late-stoppage or clear decision win for Dereck Chisora here.
PREDICTION: Dereck Chisora
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