Saturday night at the O2 London sees one of the best matched contests of the year as Britain’s Josh Taylor takes on American Regis Prograis in a battle for Super Lightweight supremacy.

This can be strongly argued as number 1 and 2 in the division, both world title holders in a winner takes all unification, two belts, one Ali Trophy, but most of all, bragging rights as the king of the division.

Josh Taylor is one of the best fighters the UK currently has to offer. As an amateur, he achieved more than most, winning a silver medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, only to be beaten by top amateur Tom Stalker.

He went on to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics, losing to the number 2 seed. Taylor could have turned pro at that point, but continued in the amateur ranks, finally picking up a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in 2014, turning pro the year later. 

Taylor wasn’t picked up by one of the major promotional outfits in Matchroom or Queensbury, instead plied his trade under the Cyclone promotional banner run by ex-world champion Barry McGuigan, trained by Shane McGuigan, one of the top young trainers in the country.

Ok, so not quite on the small hall scene, Taylor was on Channel 5, however, he didn't really get recognition in the boxing public eye until his fight with outspoken London boxer Ohara Davies.

Davies was fighting for Taylor’s Commonwealth title, but there was real spite to this fight. Many believed Davies’ punch power would be more than enough to relinquish the title from the Scotsman, but he was beaten comprehensively, deciding not to continue fighting on during the 7th round.

Along with a high-profile win, Taylor also added the WBC diamond title to his name which got him ranked by the WBC. He went on to have a series of challenging fights against Miguel Vasquez and Victor Postal before entering the World Boxing Super series.

Taylor’s first fight in the competition was a bit of a pass, Ryan Martin offered nothing, and Taylor won via a 7th round stoppage. But the World Boxing Super Series semi-final was where Taylor met his toughest test to date vs Belarusian Ivan Baranchyk.

Taylor boxed well in a very tough fight, eventually winning by unanimous decision. His prize, the IBF world title and a place in the WBSS final against WBA world champion Regis Prograis.

From Hurricane Katrina to top of the World

Regis Prograis is a tough man who’s been through a lot inside and outside of the ring which makes this a real hard night's work for Taylor.

Prograis grew up in New Orleans, raised by his mother. In 2005, when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Prograis, at 16 years old, was displaced and evacuated out of the city with his grandma and cousins to Houston Texas. ‘Katrina’ was the deadliest hurricane in nearly 80 years, killing an estimated 1,836 people and decimating the house Prograis grew up in, turning his world upside-down.

However, in what seemed a dark time in his life, he sought light in the Savannah Boxing Club in Houston. This was a moment that changed his life, and when he knew boxing is what he wanted to do. And there was no better place for him to learn.

At the time, Prograis walked into the gym, heavyweight legend Evander Holyfield was one of the huge names who used to train there. Prograis learned the best, training alongside Raul Marquez, Jesus Chavez and where he met the Charlo twins who are two of his best friends.

It’s no surprise then that Prograis was also a good amateur with an impressive record of 87-7, just missing out on the 2012 Olympic team selection. Prograis turned pro in 2012, but struggled to gain exposure and recognition. It wasn’t until June 2017 that Prograis really started to make heads turn, beating 23 and 0 Joel Diaz Jr.

This was then followed by wins over Julius Indongo, who had beaten Ricky Burns just two fights earlier. This was followed up by victories over Juan Jose Velasco and Britain’s very own Terry Flanagan in the first round of the World Boxing Super Series.

Much like Taylor, Prograis faced his toughest test as a professional in the WBSS semi-final against another Belarusian, WBA Champion Kiryl Relikh. Prograis was fantastic and stopped Relikh in the 6th round, his only stoppage.

This sets up a mouth-watering final between two unbeaten world champions, a genuine 50:50. 

Often when you get two southpaws in the same ring, the styles don’t gel particularly well, but I don't see this being an issue in this fight. Taylor is the bigger of the two, but that won’t phase Prograis, who has sparred over 200 rounds with the Charlo twins who is arguably the bigger hitter. And Taylor isn’t hard to find.

This is a fight that could really go either way, but Prograis just has a few more ‘strings to his bow’ compared to Taylor and that could be the difference on the night. However, you have to question how much the promotion has taken out of Prograis, who’s all been all over London in the past two weeks.

We also don’t know who has made weight better, both are very tight at the weight. And it could come down to these fine margins on Saturday night.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see this fight go either way, however, if pushed, I fancy Prograis with a late stoppage rounds 10-12. 

Regis Prograis to win in rounds 10-12 is 14/1 with GIVEMEBET

18+ Odds correct at time of publishing, BeGambleAware.org