EDDIE Hearn now believes he now has the very best super-lightweight on the earth and a Cuban who may beat Gervonta Davis.
On Saturday Matchroom introduced two signings throughout their co-promotion of Canelo Alvarez v John Ryder in Guadalajara.
Regis Prograis 28-1 (24) and beginner sensation Andy Cruz have now joined the British outfit and will make their promotional debuts this summer time. The number one ranked ten stone fighter returns dwelling to headline in New Orleans on June 17 in opposition to stablemate Liam Paro whereas Cruz will be a part of the light-weight division and make his skilled bow in July.
Hearn was delighted together with his new additions when he spoke to Boxing News about each of them.
“I believe we have the best 140-pounder in the world,” he mentioned of ‘Rougarou’.
The solely blemish on the file of Prograis is his defeat to Josh Taylor within the World Boxing Super Series Final three and a half years in the past. The Scot went on to change into undisputed champion whereas the American’s profession stalled. Hearn believes it could be a special consequence if the 2 greatest super-lightweights met once more.
“I really rate Josh Taylor, but I think right now with the momentum I believe Regis Prograis would beat Josh Taylor. I promoted their first fight it was like that (mimics 50-50 balance) it was brilliant. They’re both brilliant fighters.”
Hearn advised BN it was important to get a big slice of the division due to what may lie forward. Lightweight stars Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney are probably to transfer up quickly whereas fellow elite 135-pounders Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson is probably not too far behind.
“Regis is ready for all those guys. I think the kid’s a star,” mentioned Hearn.
There may very well be a number of obstacles in the best way. The well-liked phrase is, ‘The other side of the street’ however Hearn says that doesn’t matter as a result of they need to produce large fights for Prograis.
“Well, Devin Haney’s a free agent after the Lomachenko fight so we’ll see. Ryan Garcia’s with DAZN. And from there you’ve got our guys. You’ve got Paro, you’ve got [Stevie] Spark, you’ve got [Gabriel] Valenzuela, you’ve got Jack Catterall. Richardson Hitchins, Montana Love. So, we’ve got loads of guys but that’s fine for this year, like the next two fights. We do need to land the big fights and that’ll be on us to do it. And if we can’t we’ll probably lose him, so the pressure is on us, and we’ll deliver.”
Securing the signature of Andy Cruz was the one which raised eyebrows. The 27-year-old was a sensational beginner who gained gold on the 2020 Olympics however prior to that picked up the identical color 3 times on the World Championships and twice on the Pan American video games.
“I watched this kid in Tokyo and I seen him beat Luke McCormack, I saw him beat Keyshawn Davis easily,” mentioned Hearn.
“I was like this is gonna be one of those great Cubans that never turns pro and could easily take over the world in his division, but we’ll never get a chance. Unbelievably we’ve got a chance. He’s gonna start at 10 rounds in July. The way that it’s been received by the boxing community, he’s like a god. We need to push that and make the casual audience realise that this kid is unbelievable and for me could be our biggest signing ever.”
Such is the expertise of Cruz and the arrogance of his new promoter there isn’t any ceiling to how far he may go as knowledgeable. Come subsequent yr we may already be watching him combine it with the very best at 135lbs.
“I think he’ll box two or three times this year,” mentioned Hearn. “Four, five, six fights max before he fights for a world title. He can beat those guys now, honestly. I would put him in with Tank now and I rate these guys unbelievably. It’s so good to have a talent that you know can mix it with them and it’s going to be a special journey.”
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