Regis Prograis, Nonito Donaire victorious in WBSS semifinals

Regis Prograis and Nonito Donaire headlined the top two bouts of the World Boxing Super Series. They both advanced in their respective tournaments.

The World Boxing Super Series has a tremendous collection of boxers, but it has failed in its execution and management. On Saturday, April 27, Regis Prograis fought Kiryl Relikh in the super lightweight semifinals, while Nonito Donaire was challenged by late replacement Stephon Young in the bantamweight semifinal bout. Both contests produced an abundance of action, but the WBSS did a poor job of marketing the event, and there were many open seats in Louisiana’s Cajun Dome.

Louisiana is Prograis’ home state, but even his local celebrity wasn’t enough to make up for the WBSS’s incompetence. Prograis might be the best super lightweight in the world, but you wouldn’t know it based on the way that the WBSS promoted his main event championship bout.

Regardless of the anemic crowd size, Prograis was determined to showcase his talents against WBA super lightweight champion Relikh. He found a lot of success early in the fight.

Prograis boxed for most of round 1. His southpaw stance made Relikh miss most of his attacks. Prograis was content with jabbing, but Relikh made a crucial mistake.

In the last 30 seconds, he lunged with a right hand and missed. Prograis countered with a left to the liver that immediately hurt Relikh who doubled over in pain. Prograis followed up with a  left hook to Relikh’s head that dropped him. He got to his feet, and the bell rang, but he took significant damage to his body.

Prograis picked up his work rate in round two. He continued to tag Relikh to the body. Relikh kept his right hand glued to his side which opened up his head. Prograis took advantage and rocked Relikh with lefts to the head. He opened up a cut on the bridge of Relikh’s nose that would bleed throughout the fight.

Prograis dominated the second, but he broke boxing’s cardinal rule of “protect yourself at all times.” The bell rang, and Prograis dropped his hands. Relikh tattooed him with a left hook that made Prograis’ legs into jello.

Prograis didn’t look recovered to start the third. Relikh hit him with more regularity, but Prograis regained his senses after two minutes elapsed. He never struggled again.

Prograis put on a boxing clinic for the remaining rounds. His reflexes were spot on as Relikh struggled to land his shots. Prograis continued to tag Relikh to the body and went to the head when his hands dropped.

By round 6, Relikh couldn’t keep Prograis off of him. Relikh’s offense ceased, and he turned into an easy target. Prograis hit Relikh with five unanswered hooks to the head, and it was clear that Relikh could no longer defend himself. His corner threw in the towel and Prograis became the new owner of the WBA super lightweight title.

In the first two rounds of the co-main event between Donaire and Young which preceded Prograis vs. Relikh, Donaire looked severely faded. Young was brought in on three days notice as an emergency replacement for WBO bantamweight champion Zolani Tete who injured his shoulder. Young surprised Donaire with his hand speed. Donaire charged Young but looked too slow to catch the smaller, younger boxer.

Young counter-punched Donaire well for the majority of the first three rounds, but Donaire seriously hurt Young with a straight right hand in the closing seconds of round 3. Donaire’s speed and defensive skills have deteriorated, but his power is still intact.

Donaire was renewed knowing he hurt Young and battered him for the majority of the fourth round. His hooks made Young’s eyes puffy, and his nose started to pour blood. As the bell rang, Young looked dejected and hopeless.

Despite the desperation in Young’s face, he pushed on against adversity and proved that he had heart and courage. In round 6, he re-discovered his fast hands and outboxed Donaire for the first two minutes of the round.

However, Young’s defense was lazy, and he dropped his hands with 28 seconds remaining. Donaire crushed his jaw with a left hook that knocked Young out cold instantly. Donaire isn’t the same fighter he was back in 2012, but he still possesses elite power for a bantamweight.

Prograis and Donaire were the big winners of the night, but it’s a shame that their performances weren’t put on a higher pedestal. The WBSS has a ton of gifted boxers, but they lack the proficiency to adequately advance their careers.