Rougarou didn’t get the finish, but he won easily.
The World Boxing Super Series junior welterweight quarterfinal in the main event saw “Rougarou” came out with a much more measured pace than normal at home in New Orleans. Regis Prograis (23-0, 19 KOs) was still winning the rounds with relatively comfort though. He was casually backing up and pulling British former lightweight titleholder Terry Flanagan (33-2, 13 KOs) in to him. The Brit isn’t particularly effective coming forward and Prograis was able to pot shot him consistently from the outside to smoothly take the first four rounds. It wasn’t his normal exciting style, but it was effective.
“Turbo” Terry came to life a little bit in the fifth round. Regis began to come forward a bit and the former titleholder is much more comfortable in the role of boxer. Accordingly, he landed several clean shots upstairs to win the round. Unfortunately for Flanagan, however, Prograis is an excellent pressure fighter. His head movement and jab made coming forward for him work in round six and beyond.
The eighth round was the exclamation point on Prograis’s control. A big left hand put Terry Flanagan down for the first time in his career. From there the writing looked to be on the wall. Regis Prograis is a finisher. The British man showed some heart and did initially fight Rougarou off for a moment. Though even as he would land a big counter left in response, the New Orleans native just walked him down with his hands at his waist and peppered him with shots. Terry survived to the bell, but he was visibly a beaten man on his stool.
Or so I thought. I definitely underestimated the heart and will of Terry Flanagan at this point in the fight. He didn’t come back to even become particularly competitive or anything like that, but he kept trying all the way to the final bell. I had thought him being finished was imminent after the eighth. As it played out, however, he was only ever briefly wobbled again at the start of the twelfth.
It was an entirely one sided fight in the end still despite the fact that Prograis did not become the first man to stop Terry Flanagan. I scored it 119-108, as did two of the official judges. The third scored it 117-110. With the win, Rougarou moves on to meet WBA titleholder Kyril Relikh in the semifinals of the tournament.
