Regis Prograis is officially on a roll.
The former 140-pound titleholder from New Orleans stopped Irishman Tyrone McKenna in the sixth round of a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight bout Saturday in Dubai.
That was his third consecutive knockout victory since he lost his belt to Josh Taylor in October 2019, which keeps him in the thick of the title picture.
Prograis (27-1, 23 KOs) overwhelmed McKenna, knocking him onto his back with a big left hand in Round 2 and continuing to dish out punishment from then on.
McKenna (22-3-1, 6 KOs) had some good moments in Round 5, an indication that he wasn’t planning to give up. However, the one-sided fight was stopped the following round because of a cut over his right eye.
The official time of the stoppage was 1:40 of Round 6.
The fight was billed as a WBC title eliminator but the junior welterweight championship picture is muddled, in part because Taylor — the undisputed champion — hasn’t announced whether he will stay at 140.
Prograis entered the fight ranked No. 3 by the WBC, behind Nos. 1 and 2 Jose Zepeda and Jose Ramirez.
It sounds as if he will wait patiently to see how things unfold even though he’s 33.
“I’m just going to keep improving and getting better,” he said. “I was the world champion three years ago and I want to be world champ again. I’ve been at that level.
“I was No. 1 in my division and I’m trying to get back up there again.”
Also on the card, Sunny Edwards (18-0, 4 KOs) of London successfully defended his flyweight title by outpointing Pakistani Muhammad Waseem (12-2, 8 KOs).
