According to BOXXER promoter Ben Shalom, former two-time world champion Regis Prograis is the leading candidate to face the promising young fighter Adam Azim.
Azim, known as ‘The Assassin’, mentioned a week prior his intention to fight in July and listed several possible opponents, including Prograis (record 29-3, 24 KOs) and super-lightweight contender Steve Claggett.
However, Shalom states the list of potential opponents has been narrowed down, with Prograis, who has a more decorated career, being the preferred choice.
Prograis, nicknamed ‘Rougarou’, recently suffered consecutive unanimous decision losses. He was comprehensively beaten by Devin Haney over 12 rounds and subsequently lost to former undisputed title challenger Jack Catterall. Against Catterall (‘El Gato’), Prograis showed flashes of his ability, scoring a knockdown in the fifth round, though he was also knocked down himself and ultimately lost on points.
Despite being over 30, Prograis still presents an intriguing challenge for the undefeated Azim (record 13-0, 10 KOs).
The 23-year-old Azim is fresh off an impressive ninth-round knockout win against former world champion Sergey Lipinets, a performance that significantly boosted anticipation for his future.
Nevertheless, even later in his career – over five years after his standout performance against Josh Taylor – Prograis is clearly a higher caliber opponent than Lipinets.
Although he lost a close majority decision to Taylor, Prograis, a skillful southpaw, demonstrated and largely retains his status as an elite fighter in the super-lightweight division (140lbs).
Consequently, Ben Shalom views Prograis as the preferred opponent for Azim`s upcoming fight.
Shalom was quoted saying, “We made an offer to Regis, but he doesn’t seem eager to come to the UK, possibly due to controversial decisions he experienced here [against Taylor and Catterall]. That’s absolutely the fight we wanted – he’s our top target. We’ve discussed Steve Claggett, but I don’t believe that fight is likely.”
