Regis Prograis has heaped huge praise on Jose Zepeda after stopping his super-lightweight rival in the penultimate round of their recent clash.
Prograis was in stunning form as he captured the vacant WBC title, but he was fully aware of the test he had just passed as he overcame a resilient opponent who was eager to become world champion.
Prograis’ immediate priority will now switch to securing a fight with the winner of Josh Taylor, Prograis’ former rival, and Jack Catterall, who are set to meet early next year.
Despite sharing a ring with Taylor and numerous other high-profile operators, Prograis had the biggest compliments for Zepeda.
“Yeah, he was probably the toughest guy I’ve fought,” said Prograis when speaking at the post fight press conference. “He took a lot of punches. He hit hard. You can tell by his knockouts that he does have a lot of power.
“He was quicker and did have a good jab, and he was strong. He probably was my most formidable opponent, if not my toughest opponent. By the third round, I started moving my head, and he was missing a lot of punches.
“When I moved my head, his jab was going over my head. When I started boxing, that’s when he started running into punches.”