Speaker 1: Well, it's my great pleasure to welcome back to our
Speaker 1: podcast or another appearance getting ready for another important fights,
Speaker 1: none other than the former two times Junior Wealth the
Speaker 1: Weight world champion, Regis Prograt. Regis, thank you so much
Speaker 1: for joining me. We're here to talk about you have
Speaker 1: a very significant fight coming up. It's against Jack patterall
Speaker 1: in at the New co Op Live in Manchester, England
Speaker 1: and the headline the Mattroom Boxing card on October twenty sixth.
Speaker 1: On his own welcome, I know you're in training camp
Speaker 1: getting ready for the fight. First of all, just tell
Speaker 1: me just your your general thoughts about you know, preparing
Speaker 1: yet again for another you know, highly significant fight in
Speaker 1: the junior wealthweight division.
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm excited about it, you know, I'm definitely
Speaker 2: excited something I'm really it's something I can kind of
Speaker 2: look forward to. It's something I'm excited about. It's something
Speaker 2: that it's a fight that I've been wanting for a
Speaker 2: little while. And you know, it happened.
Speaker 3: I think me and Jack we're supposed to fight maybe like.
Speaker 2: Two or three years ago, and maybe like two years
Speaker 2: ago and it just kind of just never happened. And
Speaker 2: you know, now is you know, I guess now's a
Speaker 2: good time and I think this is the biggest fight
Speaker 2: you can make at one four. And besides, you know
Speaker 2: people with the belts, so I think it's you know,
Speaker 2: it's a great fight.
Speaker 3: It's a good fight, and I'm just excited about it.
Speaker 1: Well, you mentioned about how maybe there was a conversation
Speaker 1: about maybe two guys would have hooked up in a
Speaker 1: fight a couple of years ago. You were supposed to
Speaker 1: fight each other on August twenty fourth, just a few
Speaker 1: months ago. He had to postpone the fight because he
Speaker 1: suffered a rib injury. And it was only like less
Speaker 1: than a month or so, or just about a month
Speaker 1: or so before the fight. So both of you guys
Speaker 1: are already in training camp, You're already doing your sparring,
Speaker 1: You're deep in you're spending money on the camp and
Speaker 1: the whole thing, and everybody's preparing for the event. And
Speaker 1: then unfortunately, you know it's not your first rodeo, it
Speaker 1: got postponed. Can you just sort of think back then,
Speaker 1: just give me your emotions and your thoughts about when
Speaker 1: you heard, oh damn, you know this fight was postponed
Speaker 1: and just you know, just having to kind of get
Speaker 1: back in the mentality of starting camp over again at
Speaker 1: some point, right.
Speaker 3: I mean I was pissed. I was really pissed. I
Speaker 3: mean the main thing was because because I went to Vegas.
Speaker 2: I went out there, I was in Vegas train, I
Speaker 2: was running, I was doing everything else to do sparring.
Speaker 2: I mean, I had a real, real tight just just
Speaker 2: my my schedule was just super tight. It was just
Speaker 2: literally like boxing all day long. And and then you know,
Speaker 2: coming out of pocket. You know, nobody, you know, Matt
Speaker 2: Trim never gave me no type of camp money and
Speaker 2: nothing like that.
Speaker 3: I came out of my own pocket.
Speaker 2: I went out to Vegas and I was training, and
Speaker 2: then they told me the fight was postponed. So it
Speaker 2: really you know, it bothered me a lot, but it
Speaker 2: bothered me more.
Speaker 3: It bothered me about.
Speaker 2: You know that I was training, because you know, it's
Speaker 2: you know, when I was out.
Speaker 3: There training, it was good. It was good sparring, it
Speaker 3: was good work, it was it was just a whole
Speaker 3: it was a good vibe all around.
Speaker 2: But the thing that bothered me is just like, you know,
Speaker 2: I did all this and I paid all this out
Speaker 2: of pocket, and you know, it's like basically it's for nothing.
Speaker 1: So that the thing, let me ask you that that
Speaker 1: then you mentioned about the financial hit, and I mean
Speaker 1: what people with fans, I don't think sometimes realize is
Speaker 1: that a fighters, they don't get paid till the fight
Speaker 1: happens number one and number two. While there are certain fights,
Speaker 1: the biggest fights, uh, fighters get advances or get consideration
Speaker 1: and for training expenses you just mentioned it, did I
Speaker 1: just if you don't mind how much how much out
Speaker 1: of pocket you come to us to do that bunch
Speaker 1: of weeks of camp where you're not getting paid and
Speaker 1: now you got to start up the camp again, right.
Speaker 2: I was up there for about a month. I mean,
Speaker 2: it wasn't that bad. Maybe like ten or fifteen thousand.
Speaker 2: I came out of pocket, you know, it's I mean,
Speaker 2: it's it's it's not it's not that much, but at
Speaker 2: the same time, it's still something. It's still something that
Speaker 2: I have to come out of pocket with. Nobody gave
Speaker 2: me no type of money. It wasn't you know, it
Speaker 2: was all me coming out. You know, I had to
Speaker 2: I had to fly my trainers out there. It's like
Speaker 2: one of my trainers out there. I had to share
Speaker 2: my car out there. I had to pay for lodging
Speaker 2: for my trainer. Luckily I have honestly live out there,
Speaker 2: so I did that.
Speaker 3: You still have to pay.
Speaker 2: I had to pay my shelf, I had to pay
Speaker 2: up for all my food, all that type of stuff.
Speaker 2: So you know that was like the bad thing about it.
Speaker 1: But partners also you pay, yes, so you know.
Speaker 2: You have to do all that type of stuff. And
Speaker 2: but listen, it it happens. You know, I understand it happens,
Speaker 2: and it is what it is, and I wasn't. I'm
Speaker 2: glad that you know, they they postponed. It wasn't just
Speaker 2: canceled all the way and it was postponed.
Speaker 1: So when you hear that he has a rib injury,
Speaker 1: and you know that they didn't. They didn't say it's
Speaker 1: an elbow or a hand, it's a rib injury. Do
Speaker 1: you make that a point in the back of your
Speaker 1: mind to say, you know what, I'm gonna make sure
Speaker 1: I target his ribcage when it comes time for the fight.
Speaker 2: Oh of course, I mean I don't know if it's
Speaker 2: true or not, but yeah, of course. I mean, look,
Speaker 2: you have an injury, of course I'm gonna go target bit.
Speaker 3: You know, no matter what, that's what I'm gonna target.
Speaker 2: So, you know, and I don't know if it's really
Speaker 2: I don't know if it's stay that's what.
Speaker 3: I heard, you know, but you know, we can hear
Speaker 3: all kinds of stuff.
Speaker 2: So yeah, that's that'll that'll be, you know, one of
Speaker 2: the places I'll talget.
Speaker 1: Now, you're essentially gonna be fighting in his hometown he
Speaker 1: lives about I looked up on Google Maps. It's about
Speaker 1: forty five fifty minutes between his hometown to Chorley and
Speaker 1: the arena where you're fighting in Manchester. Obviously it's a
Speaker 1: hometown fight for him. Did you have any qualms about
Speaker 1: taking your show on the road to go there. You're
Speaker 1: on the short end of a very close, excellent fight
Speaker 1: against Josh Taylor a few years ago in your two
Speaker 1: thousand and nine teen unification also in the UK, which
Speaker 1: I guess hasn't been the kindest to read this program.
Speaker 1: What's your mentality about going into the lines done again.
Speaker 3: I'm not really tripping about it.
Speaker 2: You know, It's like something I don't really think about,
Speaker 2: but I'm not really tripping about it.
Speaker 3: At the same time, I want to be a you know,
Speaker 3: I want to be a world champion again.
Speaker 2: And whatever it takes to get to that world championship
Speaker 2: status again, I'll just do it.
Speaker 3: I just I know that Jack is not on my level.
Speaker 2: I know I'm a way better fighter, So it really
Speaker 2: doesn't it doesn't matter whether.
Speaker 3: Fighter's gonna take place.
Speaker 2: I just I know that I'm way better, you know,
Speaker 2: Like I said I said earlier.
Speaker 3: You know, it's a different interviews.
Speaker 2: Like, man, you can check my resume, check what I did,
Speaker 2: you know, I mean, I had two bad performances. But listen,
Speaker 2: I just know that Jack is just he's not on
Speaker 2: my levels, know where close to being on my level.
Speaker 3: So it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they have the you know, the hometown stuff going on.
Speaker 2: But for me, listen, I think that makes me hungry.
Speaker 2: And I know that people kind of write me up.
Speaker 2: But it's a good thing for me, you know, because
Speaker 2: I'm a shock everybody.
Speaker 1: All Right. So he beat Josh Taylor by a very
Speaker 1: clear decision in his last fight, took place in May.
Speaker 1: A lot most people think he won the first fight,
Speaker 1: so he should have two wins against and that was
Speaker 1: the split decision that he suffered. The loss and the
Speaker 1: undisputed title fight back in twenty twenty two. Uh, you
Speaker 1: lost a really close, outstanding fight to Josh Taylor in
Speaker 1: a two thing, like I said in the twenty nineteen unification.
Speaker 1: So I always wonder like how fighters sort of view
Speaker 1: this does the fact that he beat Taylor most people
Speaker 1: think twice you lost to him, all be it very close.
Speaker 1: Now you're fighting him, does that mean anything? The fact
Speaker 1: that he beat that.
Speaker 2: Guy and he didn't absolutely no. Styles makes fights. You know,
Speaker 2: styles made fights. You know, Dan, You've been in boxing
Speaker 2: for a long time. That doesn't That absolutely means absolutely
Speaker 2: nothing at all.
Speaker 3: Styles make fights. That doesn't matter. He might just have
Speaker 3: Taylor's number, that's all, you know, that's all. But he's
Speaker 3: he's not gonna have my number.
Speaker 2: So now it's just it's a styles make fights type
Speaker 2: of thing, and that's just how that's how I go.
Speaker 1: So did you ever watch the fight? Well, I guess
Speaker 1: the last fight that he had in May, But you
Speaker 1: did you watch that fight? And did you think did
Speaker 1: you watch the first fight that was the one that
Speaker 1: caused so much controversy, And if so for me, I.
Speaker 2: Think I thought that first fight, the first fight, I
Speaker 2: thought he won that fight. The second fight it was closer.
Speaker 2: You know, I'm not gonna say he won or lost.
Speaker 2: He obviously won a fight, but it was a it
Speaker 2: was a it was a I felt like it was
Speaker 2: a closer fight for the second fight. But it's just
Speaker 2: like you kind of you kind of old. He was like,
Speaker 2: you kind of have to give it to him, But
Speaker 2: I mean, it was it was.
Speaker 3: A close fight.
Speaker 2: I think Taylor first the action were I know Bob
Speaker 2: was pissed.
Speaker 3: You know, he got the ring. He said that, you know,
Speaker 3: they Taylor.
Speaker 2: Really want to fight, and it was it was a
Speaker 2: it was a way closer fight than a first fight. Now,
Speaker 2: but I do think that he deserved that win because
Speaker 2: he won the first one.
Speaker 1: Now, I know, you got the fight obviously that you
Speaker 1: got to deal with Caterroll and in front of you
Speaker 1: and we're talking a little bit about his performance against Taylor.
Speaker 1: You had your fight against Taylor, and down the road,
Speaker 1: whatever happens in this fight, win, lose, or draw, do
Speaker 1: you have it in your back of your mind that
Speaker 1: someday you'd like to do it again with Josh Taylor.
Speaker 1: Was such a great fight the first time, It was
Speaker 1: so competitive, big stakes unification fight. It seems to me
Speaker 1: that at some point for both of you guys, it
Speaker 1: might make sense.
Speaker 2: Man, it depends, you know, it depends on what happens,
Speaker 2: what goes on. Like for me, my my goal is
Speaker 2: to be a champion again.
Speaker 3: That's it.
Speaker 2: So if Josh Taylor happens to become a champion, of
Speaker 2: course I welcome that.
Speaker 3: I'm definitely all.
Speaker 2: If they tell me, after this, listen, you fight Joss
Speaker 2: Taill and then you have then you fight for the belt,
Speaker 2: then yeah, it's cool, we'll fight Joss Tailor again. But
Speaker 2: for me, it's it's not even a name, it's not
Speaker 2: no more names. It's just like I want I want
Speaker 2: to be a three time champion. That's something one of
Speaker 2: my I was dal behind that lead who was a
Speaker 2: three time champion, and that's something I want to do.
Speaker 2: I want to become a three time champion. And after
Speaker 2: that then I'll figure out what's going on. So whatever
Speaker 2: leads me and that in that direction, that's the direction.
Speaker 3: I go in.
Speaker 1: So a lot of times when we have these fights
Speaker 1: that come up, a lot of discussion turns toward if
Speaker 1: one guy is a right handed fighter, one guy's at
Speaker 1: south paw. It's not usually the most comfortable or normal
Speaker 1: thing let's say for the righty to be facing the lefty.
Speaker 1: In this particular case, you and Jack a bol South
Speaker 1: boys both left handed fighters, and most of your fights
Speaker 1: are against right handed fighters. So I always wonder when
Speaker 1: I'm talking to the lefty, how is it to go
Speaker 1: in with another lefty? Does it? Does it bothers me?
Speaker 3: Not me?
Speaker 2: If you look at most of the fight they've been
Speaker 2: most of my fight has been a lot of my
Speaker 2: fights been left handed fighters, you know, you studding, You
Speaker 2: know if you look at people just at the time
Speaker 2: of Hey, you look at like Onango ivor Red Cash,
Speaker 2: Jose's a paida town of McKenna, we both shim Josh here.
Speaker 2: You know I named five people just now and that's
Speaker 2: all left.
Speaker 3: Handed fightles, you know.
Speaker 2: So nahs, Yeah, I mean no, I don't feel untucked
Speaker 2: with at all.
Speaker 1: All right, Well, you mentioned before by the way that
Speaker 1: you said, you know you had a couple of tough fights.
Speaker 1: Uh in the most recent past. Uh you had the
Speaker 1: split decision where you won the fight at home in
Speaker 1: New Orleans against den Alito's area. But even you know
Speaker 1: that was in defense of your title back in June
Speaker 1: of twenty twenty three. But even you admitted that was
Speaker 1: not a good performance. I mean you know that everybody
Speaker 1: the watch it knows that you did get the victory.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 1: And then the next fight, Uh, that was the loss
Speaker 1: to Devin Haney where you lost the belt in December.
Speaker 1: You know you got shut out, you got knocked down.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 1: How I mean those are those are a lot of guys.
Speaker 1: It's harder from those types of performances in a row.
Speaker 1: But how big of it is not only for you
Speaker 1: to go in there and do your thing against Catterroll,
Speaker 1: but to do it in at least somewhat impressive manager
Speaker 1: to show, Hey, listen, you know what. I went through
Speaker 1: my rough pass, but I'm still one of the top
Speaker 1: fighters at one hundred and forty pounds, right.
Speaker 2: That's and that's exactly what I'm coming proof. You know,
Speaker 2: I want to I want to just like erase it,
Speaker 2: and I know I can. I know I am, you know,
Speaker 2: like I'm back in the gym and I'm just being
Speaker 2: me again. That's the thing, you know, I spoiled in
Speaker 2: the gym to day, and I mean my my train
Speaker 2: was like, man, that's the old regis. You're looking like
Speaker 2: the old regions. And that's how I want to come
Speaker 2: and I felt like, yeah, I had. I had a
Speaker 2: lot of stuff going on, you know, management issues and
Speaker 2: all kinds of stuff like that. Just it was just
Speaker 2: too much going on on my plate that I had
Speaker 2: to think about. Now it's just like it's all I
Speaker 2: think about.
Speaker 3: Is back to boxing.
Speaker 2: I actually change some things up in my team as
Speaker 2: far as like management wise, and they're taking care of that.
Speaker 3: But at that time, you know, I don't know if
Speaker 3: we spoke back in the.
Speaker 2: Day a few like a year ago or something like that,
Speaker 2: but I was, I was I was self managing myself.
Speaker 2: I was doing everything myself, and you know, at that time,
Speaker 2: I remember interviews with people and like you you manage yourself,
Speaker 2: and I thought that, yeah, I could do this and
Speaker 2: I didn't need a manager.
Speaker 3: But I feel like, yeah, now I know that I
Speaker 3: do need to measure.
Speaker 2: That is an important job because they take everything off
Speaker 2: they take everything off your plate.
Speaker 3: So now all I do is focus on fighting.
Speaker 2: I don't have to focus on nothing else and now
Speaker 2: just focus on boxing. So yeah, I think for me,
Speaker 2: it was like a mental thing. Physically, I can still
Speaker 2: do all the stuff. I still that's the thing. Boxing
Speaker 2: is more mental than physically and physically I still do
Speaker 2: all the stuff. I mean, it's a pointing time where
Speaker 2: you have to be honest with yourself and can.
Speaker 3: You still do this? Can you still do it? And
Speaker 3: in a gym, I mean.
Speaker 2: I'm looking I know, I'm looking real good. I mean
Speaker 2: I can't leak my spartan stuff like that, but I'm
Speaker 2: looking super good. I'm like, I'm real fast, I'm strong,
Speaker 2: I can still hear. Everything is still there. So it's
Speaker 2: all so I know it was all a mental thing.
Speaker 2: And my coaches they'll be honest with all my people
Speaker 2: around me, they'll be honest with there, Like god, damn,
Speaker 2: like you looking, man, You're looking so good, Like I've
Speaker 2: been looking like real real sweet in the gym right now.
Speaker 3: So I know all that stuff was a mental tank
Speaker 3: about a mental thing.
Speaker 2: So like now it's just like, you know, getting back
Speaker 2: to be that's the main thing.
Speaker 3: Get back to being Regions program. That's what I need
Speaker 3: to do.
Speaker 1: So when you lose the way you did against Devin Haney,
Speaker 1: I mean you'd have to wonder. I understand a guy loses.
Speaker 1: You got stuff going on outside during like you mentioned,
Speaker 1: maybe some of it's mental and you were busy trying
Speaker 1: to be a manager, random fighter and all that together.
Speaker 1: But when you don't win around it would cause one
Speaker 1: to maybe questions say, hey, you know, you know, I
Speaker 1: need to assess that performance. You talk about being you know,
Speaker 1: you know, in your top level in the gym, getting
Speaker 1: ready for this fight, But what the heck happened against Haney.
Speaker 3: It's one thing.
Speaker 1: It's one thing to lose to fight Regis, you know,
Speaker 1: but to frankly not compete to kind of a different mix.
Speaker 3: Would I know I wasn't me. I just wasn't meet
Speaker 3: at night.
Speaker 2: What happens, I don't know, and I can't. I still
Speaker 2: can't tell people what happened. I just I feel like
Speaker 2: I definitely felt like I wasn't meet. I'm not I
Speaker 2: wasn't regional program. I didn't do it, and I didn't
Speaker 2: do the things even in campus stuff like that lead
Speaker 2: them to the fight. I let a lot of hype
Speaker 2: get to my head, and I just the main thing,
Speaker 2: you know, long story short, I just wasn't me. I
Speaker 2: can I can go on about what happened in camp
Speaker 2: and what happened out of camp, but you know we.
Speaker 3: Don't have time for that.
Speaker 1: Have you ever gone back and watched that fight. No,
Speaker 1: okay watching, Yeah.
Speaker 2: Didn't watch it because I know that that.
Speaker 3: Person that was fighting it wasn't me.
Speaker 2: Even in a ring that night, I didn't feel like
Speaker 2: I just felt like I wasn't me at all.
Speaker 3: So it's like, why would I watch something that's not me?
Speaker 3: You know, it doesn't It really doesn't make sense at all.
Speaker 1: So I asked that Because I'll go back a little ways.
Speaker 1: I remember having an interview many years ago with the
Speaker 1: great heavyweight cham Vladimir Klitchko, who, in the worst night
Speaker 1: of his life, got absolutely uh embarrassed by Layman Brewster
Speaker 1: in a vacant heavyweight championship fight, and he was telling
Speaker 1: me he's watching all these films getting ready for fights.
Speaker 1: I asked him what he's watching. I thought, he's watching like,
Speaker 1: you know, Joe Lewis fights, or Muhammad Ali fights or
Speaker 1: this night. He's like, no, I'm watching myself get beat
Speaker 1: by Leman Brewster. Because you never wanted to forget what happened.
Speaker 1: That's why I asked that about going back to watch
Speaker 1: a loss. Yeah, did you ever think about that aspect
Speaker 1: of it to maybe like I'm thinking about.
Speaker 3: It now, Hey, I might go and watch it.
Speaker 2: Wait the way you say it, So now I might
Speaker 2: take a page of that book.
Speaker 3: I might, I might go through that. I might go
Speaker 3: watch it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he said, Listen, I don't ever want to forget
Speaker 1: how I tell the Night. So I'm gonna keep watching that,
Speaker 1: and you know it'll motivate me when I go into
Speaker 1: my next fight. So I don't perform like that again.
Speaker 1: And frankly, you never did perform again like that. All right, well,
Speaker 1: so I just want to wrap up with this. Then.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm not big into like boxing cliches. I'm
Speaker 1: sure you've heard them all, but coming off of that
Speaker 1: type of defeat, uh, and now being back in a
Speaker 1: big spot, like you mentioned, this is probably on paper
Speaker 1: one of the best fights you can make in the
Speaker 1: weight class that's not in one of the championship fights.
Speaker 1: And so for you to go into this fight off
Speaker 1: of that, like again, not to be into the cliches,
Speaker 1: but how much do you view it as a quote
Speaker 1: unquote must win in terms of, you know, advancing your
Speaker 1: career to get back to that level where you want
Speaker 1: to be a champigain.
Speaker 3: For me, I just know I'm gonna win.
Speaker 2: It's not even like I don't put the pressure on
Speaker 2: myself to be like, oh it's a must win and
Speaker 2: this and that, and like I said, it's the same,
Speaker 2: you know, if I want to get to that pressure
Speaker 2: is the same thing with like with the Haney stuff,
Speaker 2: like oh I.
Speaker 3: Have to do this, I have to do this.
Speaker 2: And then like I compete it terribly because I let
Speaker 2: all that pressure get through my head. I box just
Speaker 2: because I love it.
Speaker 3: You know, you have to.
Speaker 2: You have to just enjoy the sport. You have to
Speaker 2: That's that's and that's what I'm doing. I'm getting back
Speaker 2: to just enjoying. I get back to I remember last camp,
Speaker 2: you know where Haiti I was going as Sparing and
Speaker 2: you know, I just I put so much pressure on
Speaker 2: myself to do this and do this and do this,
Speaker 2: and now like I'm just in a gym just having fun.
Speaker 2: And that's what I do for I do it. I
Speaker 2: literally just box because I just enjoy it. I really
Speaker 2: have fun boxing, and that's it, and that's what I
Speaker 2: you know, that's the main thing I want to do.
Speaker 2: Go out there enjoying myself. And like the thing is
Speaker 2: like live be in the moment, be present in that moment.
Speaker 2: Don't think about you know the past, don't think about
Speaker 2: the future, just be present right in that moment.
Speaker 3: And that's kind of what I want to do.
Speaker 2: And that's kind of what I've been doing, you know,
Speaker 2: Like I said, just training, sparring, all that, just having
Speaker 2: fun and being back to being me.
Speaker 1: Well, I'm gonna look forward to watching you back to
Speaker 1: being you come October twenty six against Jack Catterall. Regis,
Speaker 1: thank you very much for your time. I appreciate it
Speaker 1: and I certainly wish you the best of luck in
Speaker 1: the fight.
Speaker 3: Thank man, thank you. M