Former WBC world champion Regis Prograis ends dry spell with hard-fought points win over former champion Joseph Diaz.
Regis Prograis (30-3, 24 knockouts) has made an impressive comeback: The former super lightweight world champion scored a unanimous points victory over former super featherweight champion Joseph “JoJo” Diaz (34-8-1, 15 knockouts) on Saturday night. The venue was the University of Illinois at Chicago – broadcast live on DAZN.
The judges scored the fight 98-92 and twice 96-94 in favor of Prograis, who was thus able to end a two-fight losing streak. The New Orleans native had previously lost his WBC crown to Devin Haney in December 2023 and was then defeated by British challenger Jack Catterall in October 2024.
Diaz, who was still world super featherweight champion in 2020, has only managed two wins in his last nine fights, but showed his tough side in Chicago. He caught Prograis with a hard punch in the very first round and was able to keep the pressure on him in the later rounds. Prograis had to work hard for every round.
“When you get in the ring, all you think about all week is the fight. You’re nervous and then you get that first hit – that’s exactly what JoJo did to me,” said Prograis after the fight. “I’ll be honest: JoJo was a lot tougher than I thought! Man, JoJo is really not an easy opponent.”
The fight served as a co-main event before the main fight between Oscar Duarte and Kenneth Sims Jr. Prograis should regain his place among the world’s top super-lightweights with this victory – but it also became clear that the road back to the world title will not be an easy one.