How Regis Prograis embodies the legacy of Mike Tyson and boxing’s best

Regis Prograis talked exclusively to FanSided before his upcoming bout with Josh Taylor about his passion for boxing history. Hear how Mike Tyson impacted him.

All great fighters throughout boxing history share distinct qualities: athleticism, skill, heart, and pugilistic intelligence. This last quality, in particular, set Regis Prograis apart from other boxers. He’ll need it when he steps into the ring with Josh Taylor (15-0, 12 KOs) on Saturday, Oct. 26, on DAZN (2 p.m ET) for his chance to unify the super lightweight title.

Prograis came to boxing relatively late in life and by accident. As a sophomore high school football player, Prograis developed a reputation as a tough street fighter. His coaches noticed that his talents with his fists supersede his abilities on the field.

“One day, I was beating everybody up in school,” Prograis told FanSided. “One of the coaches told me, ‘I don’t think you need to play football anymore. I think you need to box.’ I just wasn’t interested in football anymore at the time. I took their advice. I turned in all my football equipment. I wanted to start boxing.”

Prograis’ introduction to boxing is well documented. He started his journey in his hometown of New Orleans but was displaced by Hurricane Katrina. His boxing and life odysseys took him to Houston, where he discovered the Savannah Boxing Gym.

At the legendary gym, fate brought Prograis to the right place at the right time. Savannah was a hub for established champions, boxing prospects, and legends. On any given day, Juan Diaz, the Charlo twins, and Evander Holyfield could be at the gym.

“It motivates you more— like you can do it too,” explained Prograis. ” When I first came to the gym, Juan Diaz was a three-time world champion, undefeated. I was like damn, this dude is a world champion, and he’s training here. Juan Diaz was the top main dude at the gym at the time. You had Raul Marquez, Rocky Juarez. Holyfield came when I was 19 or 20.”

In that type of atmosphere, passion and wisdom could rub off on a young fighter with extraordinary talents lying dormant. Prograis was a 17-year-old amateur who was fascinated with the sport and eager to make it his life’s work despite being a novice.

“I was a quick study,” related Prograis. “I had to work harder than everybody else. I came up with the Charlo twins. We all came up in the gym together. When I started, they was [sic] already going to nationals and stuff like that. I felt like I had to work harder than everybody else. That’s just how I felt.”

Prograis’ dedication and focus paid off. In a short period, he secured his position as a top amateur. As an amateur, Prograis was a state champion, fought in the Olympic trials, and was ranked number four in the country. He was successful but knew that his style would make him stand out as a professional.

“I went to the Olympic trials, but my style was always fit for a professional,” said Prograis. “It never felt like an amateur style because I like to fight. I like to go out there and hit people hard. I like to hurt people. Even in the amateurs, that’s what I did. I had a lot of knockouts. I was stopping a lot of people.”

Fast-forward seven years, and Prograis is the WBA super lightweight champion. His record is 24-0, with 20 knockouts. Prograis dominated elite competition in the World Boxing Super Series tournament. Taylor is his current nemesis. If he defeats him on Oct. 26, then he will add the IBF belt to his collection and another notch in the win column.

For all of his work in the gym honing his craft and developing his power and skill, one of Prograis’ greatest assets is his mind and intelligence. He’s more than a physically gifted fighter. He’s also a thinker.

In a 2018 feature in Bleacher Report, Prograis discussed his love of reading. To be a complete boxer and person, he seeks enrichment of the mind and body.

“He boasts that he’s finished at least 100 books in the past eight years; some 70 percent of them relate to boxing,” reported Bleacher Report. “Currently, he’s reading Corner Men: Great Boxing Trainers. He also likes to research and test various training and recovery methods.”

Over the last year, Prograis appetite for knowledge hasn’t lessened.

“I read a lot,” Prograis declared to FanSided. “When I first started reading, I was reading like five, six, seven hours a day. I’ve got kids now and different responsibilities. Some of that’s slowing down, but even now, if I have time, I will pick up a book, and I can just read for three, four hours at a time.”

Prograis studies the history of the sport. It’s not enough to know about the current landscape in boxing. He seeks out wisdom through the experiences of the sport’s titans that came before him. It’s a trait that he picked up from Mike Tyson, his initial boxing influence.

“[One of] my biggest inspirations in boxing was Mike Tyson,” said Prograis. “That still is one of my favorite fighters. It was him, and he was like an encyclopedia of knowledge for boxing. I wanted to be the same thing. It wasn’t just reading; it was studying too. Studying boxing and old fights. I’ve got 1,000s of DVDs at home of the old fights. I still do that to this day.”

Tyson sparked Prograis’ intellectual curiosity, but his quest for boxing enlightenment has added lessons learned from other boxers throughout the sport’s rich history.

"You look at guys like Sugar Ray Robinson. I look at Joe Gans, Henry Armstrong. Henry Armstrong is one that I like a lot because of his pressure style. He won three world titles in three different divisions at the same time and went up and down and defended them. That for me is amazing. To know how he did that—he hoboed from St. Louis all the way to California living his dream. That was way back in the day when they had segregation. That was the 1930s."

Prograis feels that his boxing expertise differentiates him from other fighters today. He studies their body of work, techniques, decisions, and failures, and integrates them into his consciousness. Just like Tyson emulated facets of Jack Dempsey’s game, Prograis has done the same with the boxers previously mentioned.

He will need to be part Gans, Tyson, and Armstrong on Oct. 26 (2 p.m ET on DAZN) against the undefeated Scotsman Taylor. Taylor has the size advantage and will have the U.K. crowd on his side, but Prograis brings the lessons learned from his boxing forefathers. He’s confident he will be victorious.

“I think that Josh Taylor is the best fighter in the world at 140 pounds besides myself,” said Prograis. “I think he’s number two for a reason. I’m number one. There’s a reason for that. He’s a real good fighter, but I cannot see how he can possibly beat me.”