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Steve KimESPN
Regis Prograis has resolved his dispute with World Boxing Super Series officials and is back in the tournament final, his promoter, Lou DiBella, told ESPN on Saturday.
Prograis will fight Josh Taylor on Oct. 26 at the O2 Arena in London to unify their 140-pound world titles in the final of the eight-man tournament, DiBella said.
Prograis had pulled out of the WBSS final Aug. 9, when he filed a lawsuit against tournament owner Comosa AG. In the suit, Prograis and DiBella accused Comosa AG, a Swiss company, of refusing to meet its contractual obligations to enter an escrow agreement to secure their money.
But the two sides were able to iron out their differences, and Prograis has agreed to drop his suit, DiBella said.
DiBella told ESPN that while the deal to fight Taylor still isn’t signed, “We’ve made enough progress on this that we were comfortable in letting them announce this fight so we can get moving. There are still a few loose ends to tie up.”
“I’m very excited to get everything settled for this fight,” Prograis said. “This is the fight I wanted the most, and it’s the fight to prove who is the best in the division. My goal has always been the same, and that’s to prove I’m the best 140-pound fighter in the world and to become undisputed.”
DiBella said he is insisting on more stringent drug testing for the tournament final. While the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) is being used for the fight, DiBella said he believes the number of times each boxer will be tested before the event is not sufficient.
“We don’t believe that each boxer being tested just one time beforehand is enough,” DiBella said. “So we still need to have that issue resolved.”
Prograis (24-0, 20 KOs), who is the WBA 140-pound champion, reached the final by defeating Terry Flanagan in a 12-round decision and then halting Kiryl Relikh in six rounds.
Taylor (15-0, 12 KOs), who has the IBF title, stopped Ryan Martin in seven rounds and then outpointed Ivan Baranchyk to advance to the final.
“I’m massively excited,” Taylor said. “I want to prove that I’m the best in the division by taking on the best fighters. Now it’s finally over the line I can concentrate on getting to work in the gym and going full steam ahead again. I’m very confident that I can outbox him and outfight him as well, I can’t see anything other than a Josh Taylor win on October 26.”
The winner of the Prograis-Taylor bout will win the Muhammad Ali Trophy and join Jose Ramirez as unified belt holders in the junior welterweight division.