THE ever-changing super-lightweight division is one that is awaiting a clear conqueror and Oscar Duarte (28-2-1) has proven himself as a capable contender to mount a title challenge. Now, it appears as though Duarte will look to further add his résumé, as he gears up to take on two-time world champion Regis Prograis (29-3) in an intriguing crossroads showdown.
Duarte suffered a first career defeat when he lost a split-decision to Adrian Estrella as a lightweight back in February 2019. However, that defeat kickstarted a run of 11 straight knockout wins at 135lbs, before stepping up in both levels and weight to take on global superstar Ryan Garcia in late 2023, where he was stopped after eight competitive rounds.
After falling short against Garcia, Duarte has made noticeable improvements and an eye-catching 2024 saw ‘La Migrana’ halt former IBF super-featherweight champion JoJo Diaz and then record a unanimous-decision victory against well-respected Uzbek Bortirzhon Akhmedov to thrust himself back into world title contention.
As for Prograis, the much-loved Louisiana-born southpaw finds himself in contrasting form – an eleventh-round knockout of Jose Zepeda to claim the WBC lightweight title back in 2022 being the last time that we saw the recognisable version of ‘Rougarou’ that had achieved such success prior.
Since then, Prograis has managed to defend his title in an unconvincing and controversial split-decision win over Danielito Zorrilla, before one-sided unanimous-decision defeats to both Devin Haney and Jack Catterall looked to have brought Prograis phenomenal career to a close.
Shortly after the loss to Catterall, 35-year-old Prograis (WBC #9) revealed that he was contemplating hanging up the gloves and opting for a switch to bare-knuckle boxing, admitting his physical struggles of fighting twelve rounds.
“I think that twelve rounds might be too much for me now. I started fading in the later rounds, I hurt my knee, I hurt my ankle and it’s because it is just getting too long. I think, for now, I should go to bare-knuckle and do something else and let the young guys take over.”
Yet, for now at least, it seems as though the gloves will stay firmly on, with reports suggesting that he and Duarte (WBA #11) will come to blows on February 15th in Anaheim, California, headlining a Golden Boy Promotions card that will be live streamed on DAZN.
