Indongo vs Prograis on Showtime Friday – This Friday night sees former 140 pound world champion Julius Indongo (22-1) taking on prospect Regis Prograis (20-0) on Showtime.
Indongo held the WBA and IBF world titles until last August when he was stopped in the third round by Terence Crawford. That win gave Crawford the four major world titles at super lightweight, but the all-world Crawford quickly vacated the belts and headed north to the 147 pound welterweight division. Indongo, who is a native of Namibia, had crafted a nice story for himself. After fighting his entire career in his home country, he went to Russia in December of 2016 and grabbed the IBF belt from undefeated champion Eduard Troyanovsky. He then went to England to face the experienced Ricky Burns and he walked away with the WBA belt as well. The match-up with Crawford was to unite the 4 major world championships in the weight class, and though he fell short, Indongo deserves credit for getting there.
Prograis will be Indongo’s first bout back, so he cannot afford a loss. Prograis is an undefeated 29 year old who is stepping up in this one. An Interim version of the WBC’s world title is at stake in the fight, so Prograis is looking to elbow his way into the world title picture with a win here.
Indongo wants to show more than he did against Crawford in this States side fight. He is tall and he still possesses one punch knock out power and one should not underestimate his warrior’s spirit. If Prograis proves to be too skilled or too good for Indongo, you can expect the African to go out on his shield here. Do not underestimate hunger and pride, as Indongo has bushels of both.
A second high level bout at 140 pounds is set for the Showtime broadcast as undefeated Ivan Baranchyk (17-0) faces rugged veteran Petr Petrov (38-5-2). We last saw Petrov in April of 2017 when he lost a lightweight world title bid against England’s Terry Flanagan. Here we see Petrov moving up in weight to take on the 25 year old prospect Branchyk. Baranchyk was originally scheduled to face Sweden’s Anthony Yigit but Yigit pulled out due to an injury.
Baranchyk is a youngster who has a reputation as a “beast.” He has fought most ofhis career in the United States and he has looked to beat up on undefeated competition, but with all due respect to those fighters, this is a big step up for Baranchyk. Petrov is a hard worker who is best known for winning a Boxcino tournament a few years back, but he has failed to break through against the upper echelon of fighters he has faced.
More action out of the mid-west sees Rob Brant (22-1) looking to bounce back as he faces Colby Courter (12-11) in a match that should put Brant back on track. Brant was the lone American in the World Boxing Super Series tournament at 168 pounds, but he lost to veteran Jurgen Braehmer in the opening round. Here Brant drops back down to the 160 pound middleweight division for this one.
Indongo vs Prograis -Deadwood Mountain Grand – Deadwood, South Dakota – Showtime
Super Lightweight 12 rounds –
Julius Indongo +310
Regis Prograis -400
Super Lightweight 12 rounds –
Petr Petrov +265
Ivan Baranchyk -385
Grand Casino – Hinckley, Minnesota
Middleweight 8 rounds-
Colby Courter +1750
Rob Brant -5250
Indongo vs Prograis on Showtime Friday / Check out more boxing news and features at The Sweet Science.
[related_post_one]
The NBA is in the home stretch. Get all your basketball here.
