Regis “Rougarou” Prograis put on a show for his hometown New Orleans fans, defending the WBC super lightweight diamond belt with an eighth-round TKO over Juan Jose Velasco in front of 3,615 fans at the UNO Lakefront Arena.
Prograis, who was born and raised in New Orleans and moved following Hurricane Katrina, knocked Velasco down with a body shot in the fifth round and kept applying the pressure. It was all over in the eighth round when Velasco’s corner threw in the towel. The homecoming was complete, and it was a success.
“I couldn’t lose here in New Orleans,” Prograis said. “I told my father, if I lost, I couldn’t come back. I had to go out there and fight. I knew I had a hard fight. There was a lot of excitement, but I had to hide that excitement. I had a job to do.”
In the co-main event, promised that it was time for “The Takeover.” And he delivered. Lopez knocked out William Silva in the sixth round to win the vacant WBC Continental Americas lightweight title, punctuating the victory with a home run trot and a backflip. Lopez (10-0, 8 KOs) dropped Silva (25-2, 14 KOs) three times, a veteran who had never been knocked out. Following the third knockdown, punctuated by a furious barrage, referee Bruce McDaniel immediately stopped the bout.
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Photos: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
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