What’s The Status Of Maurice Hooker Vs. Regis Prograis?

It appears as if Maurice Hooker is not waiting for a bout between him and Regis Prograis to be booked. In fact, Hooker has decided to move up in weight to welterweight.

Prograis and Hooker were supposed to face off against one another on April 17. The bout was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. There wasn’t a select date the two would be coming back to action. The bout was going to be a catchweight bout instead of a welterweight clash, and due to the demands of weight cutting, Hooker’s team thought it was right to change things up.

“We’ve got to,” said trainer Brian McIntyre to ESPN. “So when the fight came up [against] Prograis, I figured we could make it,” McIntyre said. “Then when the pandemic came, we kind of dodged a bullet, right there. So I’m not going to let him go back down, knowing he’s struggling, and the reality is he wasn’t going to make the weight the last time.”

Hooker appears to be walking around right now at 168 pounds, not the intended 143 pounds for the planned contest. According to Chris Mannix, Hooker would like the fight at 147. Prograis was unwilling to fight above 143, as an agreement was originally made. That is what Sam Katkovski of Churchill Management told The Athletic.

“From our side, we’re not going above 143,” said Katkovski. “Regis wants to stay at 140, he has unfinished business at 140. Our goal is to stay there. One hundred forty-three was already a concession to them because it was a good fight. They can’t make weight with three months of a pandemic and three more months of training?

“I’ll tell you this: I just think he blew away his retirement check if he’s trying to pull out of the fight.”

“Mighty Mo” (27-1-3) is on a one fight win streak. He beat Uriel Perez back in December via KO. It was a rebound fight after losing his first professional bout to Jose Carlos Ramirez back in July. As a result, Hooker lost his WBO Light-Welterweight Championship. He beat Terry Flanagan via split decision for the title and successfully defended it twice.

Prograis (24-1) is coming off of a loss to Josh Taylor back in October. The former WBA and NABF Light-Welterweight Champion was one win away from winning the World Boxing Super Series: Super-Lightweight finals. Katkovski went on to say that Prograis is focusing on Taylor and Jose Ramirez.

In the end, Hooker decided to do what he felt was right. McIntyre made it clear that Hooker would not be able to reach the limit, and they were still interested in a clash. Hooker’s future goals have superseded whatever was originally planned.