Prograis Overcomes Nerves To Beat Danielito Zorrilla Via A Split Decision
Regis Prograis beat Danielito Zorrilla to retain his WBC junior-welterweight title via a split decision.
But from the off, however, Prograis had to overcome some adversity. In the first round, the champion hit the canvas after a straight-right hand from Zorrilla connected.
STARTING OFF HOT 😯#PrograisZorrilla pic.twitter.com/60rRjPkZ6e
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) June 18, 2023
While the referee deemed it a slip incorrectly, the American’s ego was hurt. After being shaken, Prograis pressed the action.
A combination of feints and lateral movement paid off, as Prograis landed a quick left-hand that knocked Zorrilla down, despite the latter rolling the shot.
Regis Prograis punches through Danielito Zorrilla and knocks him down 💥#PrograisZorrilla pic.twitter.com/5B5r7oz5KN
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) June 18, 2023
The champion had clawed himself back into the bout, but at the halfway stage, the lull in the fight drew in the boos from the home crowd as Prograis felt the pressure.
In the second half of the fight, Zorrilla kept himself in the bout by hanging in and edging a few rounds.
BATTLING ⚔️#PrograisZorrilla pic.twitter.com/iXAz2saXoG
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) June 18, 2023
Although Prograis increased the workload in the championship rounds, the boxer couldn’t stop Zorrilla inside the distance, as it went to the scorecards: 118-109, 117-110, 113-114.
The victory gives Prograis a variety of options. A mega-fight with Devin Haney could occur if the latter does move up to 140 lbs after having become undisputed at lightweight.
Eddie Hearn has already confirmed that talks with Prograis and Haney have begun. Outside of that, a fight with the IBF champion Subriel Matias could occur.
Meanwhile, Teofimo Lopez’s WBO belt is also up for grabs after the ‘Takeover’ vacated it following his win over Josh Taylor.
Reaction
“New Orleans, I’m sorry. I wanted to put on a little better performance. When you come back for hometown fights, they make you so nervous.
“I was in my hotel room, I was nervous. Usually when I’m fighting on the road and I’m not here, I stay in the hotel the whole time. This time I went out before the fight. Hometown fights – they’re the worst, bro.
“They have a lot of great fights [at 140]. There’s [Devin] Haney. I don’t know what’s going on with Teo. There’s Matias. There’s Rolly, but Rolly is terrible to me.
“I really don’t want to fight Rolly. There’s Ryan Garcia. We’ll see what’s happening next,” Prograis
Co-Main Event
In the co-main event, Shakhram Giyasov beat Harold Calderon via a unanimous decision in a WBA welterweight title eliminator.
Giyasov’s jab was effective early on, as he closed the distance to push Calderon back. The Uzbek’s right hand was telling, as he peppered the body.
In response, Calderon stayed behind the jab in an attempt to block the body shots that were coming his way. A cut opened on Calderon’s head as the 35-year-old began to feel the heat.
Shakhram Giyasov WINS A UNANIMOUS DECISION OVER Harold Calderon pic.twitter.com/WS6YJndpLQ
— Andrew Tucker World (@drew8527) June 18, 2023
Giyasov landed further combinations as a left hook shook his opponent in the fourth. In the second half of the fight, Calderon gained some success with a left hand and a right hook in the seventh.
However, that was short-lived as Giyasov landed further combinations as he won a wide decision: 120-108, 118-110 and 116-112.
Full Results
Regis Prograis def. Danielito Zorrilla via a split decision: 118-109, 117-110, 113-114 – Junior lightweight
Shakhram Giyasov def. Harold Calderon via a unanimous decision: 120-108, 118-110, 116-112 – welterweight
Julissa Alejandra Guzman def. Ramla Ali via an eight-round KO – super bantamweight
Jeremy Hill def. Mark Davis via a fourth-round TKO – lightweight
Ginny Fuchs def. Indeya Smith via a unanimous decision: 80-72, 79-73, 79-73 – super flyweight
Criztec Bazaldua def. Elroy Fruto via a unanimous decision: 40-36, 40-36, 40-36 – lightweight
Xavier Madrid def. Aaron Aponte via a split decision: 76-75, 76-75, 73-78 – junior welterweight