Don’t get it twisted – Regis Prograis is the champion and Devin Haney is the challenger.
It just doesn’t feel that way.
The 25-year-old Haney, who recently vacated all four of his titles as the former undisputed lightweight champion, is moving up to super lightweight as he looks to now become a two-division champion.
In his first fight in the new weight class, Haney takes on Prograis for the latter’s WBC title Saturday night (8 p.m., DAZN PPV) at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
Possessing a far bigger following, Haney’s name resonates much more than Prograis with fans and on pound-for-pound lists, and this bout will be instrumental in his quest to truly cement himself as a pay-per-view superstar.
The roles have seemingly been flipped during the build-up to Saturday’s bout, with Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) being promoted like the A-side of the fight and Prograis (29-1, 24 KOs) being the underdog despite being the one who will actually carry a title into the ring.
“I definitely don’t feel like I get that [respect],” Prograis, 34, told The Post. “I feel like people kind of walk over me a little bit. For me, it creates that chip on my shoulder. I’ve always had that chip on my shoulder, but it’s even bigger with things like this.
“For this fight, I’m super motivated. Very, very motivated, I don’t just want to beat Devin – I want to destroy Devin. And that’s what I’m gonna do.”
Prograis owns a stellar resume, his only loss coming in 2019 by majority decision to Josh Taylor in which he lost his WBA super lightweight title.
He had to climb his way back to the top and was forced back to fighting on undercards, which he called “totally disrespectful.”
He became a champion again in November 2022, knocking out Jose Zepeda for the WBC title he currently owns and proving he belongs in the conversation of the sport’s elites.
But despite a veteran career that has spanned more than a decade and a fan-friendly style as a big puncher and knockout artist, Prograis is routinely missing on pound-for-pound lists and often ignored when discussing boxing’s biggest stars.
“It’s the outside lifestyle,” Prograis said. “I’m older, so I’m not gonna do the same things these guys do outside the ring. I’m married, I have three kids and I’m very, very humble. People don’t realize that about me. I’m on the same status as most of these guys, but I’m super humble. I don’t care about that stuff. People care about all these outside things, and I’m just not a flashy person. Right now, it seems like a lot of the bigger names, they’re flashy. I don’t really care about the flash and all that type of stuff. It’s really just not my thing. I don’t really care about it. People care about that more than the actual boxing.”
Prograis admitted that he struggled and was underwhelming in his last bout, a split decision win over Danielito Zorrilla in June for his first WBC super lightweight title defense.
It was his first fight with his new promoter, Matchroom Boxing, whose chairman Eddie Hearn promised Prograis he’d make a fight and find an opponent of Haney’s magnitude within his first three fights with the company.
Their two styles make for an intriguing matchup – Prograis a power-puncher and Haney a skilled tactician.
But Prograis is steadfast that Haney has no idea what’s about to hit him.
“He’s gonna get a reality check,” Prograis said. “This is the real deal. Haney has never been in a fight like this before. That’s the difference, he’s never been in a fight like this before. It’s definitely gonna show, it’s definitely gonna be a wake-up call to him.
“It’s gonna be a super rude awakening because it’s not what he thinks it’s gonna be.”