A day ahead of the World Boxing Super Series semi-finals at the Cajundome, the fighters stepped on the scales before showcasing their skills on Saturday night. The main event will feature No. 1 Ranked World Junior Welterweight Regis Prograis against WBA Junior Welterweight World Champion Kiryl Relikh, and in the co-main event WBA Super Bantamweight World Champion Nonito Donaire takes on Stephon Young – which will be broadcasted live on DAZN.
Coverage of the World Boxing Super Series on DAZN will be begin at 8 p.m. ET.
12-Round Super Lightweight Semi-Final Bout @ 140 lbs.
Regis Prograis: 139.8 lbs.
Kiryl Relikh: 139.9 lbs.
12-Round WBSS Bantamweight Semi-Final Bout @ 118 lbs.
Nonito Donaire: 117.6 lbs.
Stephon Young: 117.3 lbs.
Regis Prograis & Kiryl Relikh and Nonito Donaire & Stephon Young all make weight ahead of their hotly anticipated WBSS semi-finals at the Cajundome Saturday in Lafayette, LA, USA.
WBC Diamond Champion, Regis Prograis (23-0, 19 KOs): 138.9 lb/63kg
“It’s a big fight,” said Prograis. “I am a native of Louisiana and I am very happy to be able to fight here. There is nothing stopping me from getting that belt. It’s on! I’mma knock his ass the f— out!”
WBA World Champion, Kiryl Relikh (23-2, 19 KOs): 139.9 lb/63.45 kg
“I have always traveled abroad, being the visiting boxer. So, I have no problems fighting Regis here,” said Relikh.
WBC Diamond Champion & WBA Super World Champion, Nonito Donaire (39-5, 25 KOs): 117.6 lb/53.34 kg
Stephon Young of Saint Louis, Missouri, USA, the WBA No. 5 contender and official WBSS super-lightweight reserve replaced Zolani Tete due to an injury in the right shoulder of the South African WBO Champion.
“I am ready for anything, that is the mentality that I have,” said Donaire. “We work on the adaptation to be able to adapt to the situation. So here I am, ready to go. I am grateful for Stephon coming in and making this fight happen.”
Stephon Young (18-1-3, 7 KOs): 117.3 lb/53.20 kg
“It was a dream coming true,” said Young. “When I heard I was fighting for the world title I was like: ‘yeah it’s my time’. And I believe I am going to win.”
Kiryl Relikh (23-2, 19 KOs), Belarus’ WBA title-holder, believes Regis Prograis (23-0, 19 KOs), the WBC Diamond champion, is ‘in for a surprise’ in their WBSS super-lightweight semi-final April 27 at the Cajundome in Lafayette, LA, USA.
Relikh, who is training in Miami, defeated Russia’s tricky Eduard Troyanovsky by a unanimous decision, with all judges scoring it 115-113 in favour of the ‘Mad Bee’, to reach the semi-final.
What is your assessment of your performance against Troyanovsky?
“I wasn’t entirely satisfied with my performance against Troyanovsky. His style was quite inconvenient, as he didn’t engage. I am convinced that Prograis’ style will suit me much better.”
What is your opinion of Prograis and the challenge he presents?
“Regis Prograis is, without a doubt a good boxer, but he’s not faced, yet, anyone like me. He’s in for a surprise.”
What areas do you think you have the advantage over Prograis?
“I’m smarter than him, and I’ve had a much better boxing school.”
What is your prediction for the fight?
“There is not a single doubt in my mind that I’ll beat Prograis.“
You have fought a lot of fights ‘away from home’ – are you excited to once again be fighting on a big fight card in the United States?
“No matter where a fight takes place, the purpose is to win. I am always calm and I like fighting away from home. Of course, fighting in the United States is giving great exposure, so this is an excellent motivation as well.”
Prograis: “At the end of the rainbow is the pot of gold”
WBC Diamond Champion Regis Prograis talked legacy and Kiryl Relikh at the final press conference in Lafayette, Louisiana ahead of the WBSS super-lightweight semi-final at the Cajundome on Saturday.
“Legacy never dies. This will be here way when I’m just ashes and gone,” Prograis told local TV Station, KATC, at the press conference.
“That’s why I signed up for the tournament. It’s a big risk and reward at the same time. It’s real fights. You can’t duck people, you have to fight. It’s a big reward at the end, at the end of the rainbow is the pot of gold.”
Prograis’ trainer Bobby Benton has outlined the gameplan to follow for Saturday’s semi-final against Kiryl Relikh, the WBA Champion of Belarus.
“Benton tells me what he does and what he does good and what he does bad and what his tendencies are,” said Prograis.
“He doesn’t go in completely blind – he has an idea of what his opponents will do – but this set up allows him to be freed up entering the ring.
“It makes me become the best me I feel,” said Prograis. “You aren’t expecting anything. I expect the best. I expect him to be really fast, really strong, really aggressive. That’s what my mindset is. It’s focused on him being the best. I’m preparing to go against the best every time and I can’t wait for Saturday to go out and do what I do.”
Kiryl Relikh is expecting an even fight. “He is not easy, and I am not easy so I think it will be an interesting fight,” he told. “I don’t want to reveal too much about my plan of how to beat him, but you’ll see on Saturday…”
Tickets starting at $25 for the WBSS Super-Lightweight and Bantamweight Semi-Finals on April 27 at the Cajundome in Lafayette, LA are available from TicketMaster here.
Fans in the U.S. and Canada can watch all the Ali Trophy semi-finals LIVE, exclusively on DAZN.
