ShoBox results: Prograis smashes Diaz Jr in prospect battle

Regis Prograis made it look pretty easy tonight on ShoBox.

Two undefeated junior welterweight prospects entered the ring tonight in Verona, New York, and after less than two rounds of action, one of them had made a statement.

Regis “Rougarou” Prograis remained unbeaten with a second round stoppage of Joel Diaz Jr in tonight’s ShoBox main event, dropping Diaz four times in the second round before the referee called it off.

Prograis (20-0, 17 KO) simply overpowered Diaz (23-1, 19 KO), who tried his best to hang on and make it through the round, but just couldn’t stop the left hands from the southpaw Prograis.

It’s a big statement win for Prograis at the level, but Showtime’s crowning of Prograis as a legitimate contender now may still be a bit premature. Diaz was also pretty untested, and while it’s a good step in a division that has room toward the top behind Terence Crawford, there are still steps to take between now and a respectable world title bid.

In a middleweight bout, Steve Rolls (16-0, 9 KO) remained undefeated with a debatable split decision win over Demond Nicholson (17-2-1, 16 KO). Nicholson got off the canvas in the first round and seemed to take control of the fight after the second or third, but Rolls won the majority of rounds on two of three cards, and that’s what matters. Rolls is 33 and probably not going to become a real contender at 160, but it’s a nice win for him.

In the lightweight opener, Sergio Martinez protégé Jon Fernandez improved to 13-0 (11 KO) with a second round knockout of overmatched Juan Reyes (14-4-3, 2 KO), with the official time of the KO at 2:36 of the second round. Fernandez looked good, but he was able to do as he pleased, with no fear of real retaliation from Reyes.