Prograis Demands Rematch, Claims Haney Broke Weight Rules

Regis Prograis is adamant about a rematch with Devin Haney, asserting that the boxer had violated a weight rule prior to their clash in December.  

Haney won a one-sided bout to win every round on the scorecards on his way to a unanimous decision win. The victory made Haney a two-weight world champion as he picked up Prograis’ WBC Belt. While that may have been the case, there was controversy over Haney’s weight. He made the 140 limit, only to rehydrate to 165 pounds on the night of the fight.

Prograis only found out how much Haney weighed once he got home. The boxer now alleges that Haney broke the rehydration rules set for the fight in San Francisco, California. Haney rehydrated to 18 percent from the weigh-in to the fight night. However, Prograis later discovered that the California State Athletic Commission passed a rule in 2019 preventing boxers from going over 15 percent of their body weight. The Commission has said it would cancel any fight that broke those rules. Given the fight went ahead, Prograis wants that addressed. 

Prograis On Haney

“I don’t need no type of apology [from Hearn]. I’m still with Matchroom and don’t expect Eddie to side with me. I told him a long time ago that Devin was his boy. But I’m just going to run through that stable. It’s cool. It’s all coming out now, and I don’t really have to say too much about it. Everybody knows what happened,” Prograis stated 

Nevertheless, there are question marks over whether the law was ratified. While a bill was passed, it remains to be seen if it was set into law. If Haney broke the rules, the win could be turned into a no-contest. This also raises further questions about how much fighters can rehydrate. Ryan Garcia’s fight with Haney showed that. Ryan missed weight by 3.2 pounds.

Will The Rematch Happen?

No rehydration limits made him bigger than he would have usually been. Garcia then dropped Haney three times on his way to a majority decision win. Garcia would then test positive for Ostarine, which could overturn the result. However, it shows the wider impact of weight, as Haney was fighting someone of a similar size to him. Haney could not make adjustments and has ruled out a rematch. Regis felt the nature of boxing would work against him. 

“On the fight night, you don’t know nothing about that. When I was in California, I didn’t know nothing about it. I let it go. Since y’all said it, I have to look into it. “Yes [I want the belt back]. Boxing is so corrupt. I know in my fight with Devin, he was over. In California, you have different rules. You’re not supposed to be a certain weight over the limit. You’re not supposed to be over a certain weight. Devin was over that certain weight. So, literally, that fight wasn’t supposed to happen, and literally, you can’t do that, and it was. That’s the case,” Prograis said