(May 29th) Brisbane, Queensland, heavyweight, Justis “JPH” Huni breaking into the game, October 22nd, 2022 claiming the Australian Heavyweight title in his pro-debut stopping, once beaten Samoan, Faiga Opelu in seven rounds looks to remain mirror the event June 17th when he takes on Las Vegas, Nevada, once beaten, “Beast” Andrew Tabiti on the undercard of the Regis “Rougarou” Prograis "Homecoming" super-lightweight world title bout versus Danielito "El Zorro" Zorrilla at the Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Since then, the 6’4”, 24-year-old, recent Matchroom Boxing signee, Huni, climbed to 7-0, 4Ko’s successfully making three Aussie title defenses before added the vacant IBF Pan Pacific, Oriental & Pacific Boxing Federation and WBO Oriental Heavyweight straps to his collection with wins over Paul Gallen, Joe Goodall comes in off a ten round unanimous decision win over once beaten New Zealander, Kiki Leutele this past November.

The 33 year old, 6’1”, once beaten, power punching veteran, Andrew Tabiti, 23-1, 16Ko’s, three stoppage wins off his sole defeat a tenth round knockout loss at the hands of Yuniel Dorticos, June 2019 enters on a new Ko streak stopping Jackson, Michigan, southpaw, Mitch “King Kamm” Williams in five, Temple, Texas, Shamarian Snider in two and North Hollywood, California, previously unbeaten “Beast” James Wilson in five rounds his last time out last August on the Oleksandr Usyk / Anthony Joshua undercard.

TICKETS FOR PROGRAIS VS. ZORILLA ARE ON SALE NOW AT TICKETMASTER.COM

Matchroom Boxing WBC Light Welterweight Champion Regis Prograis will defend his title June 17th in his hometown of New Orleans versus Toa Baja, Puerto Rico’s, Danielito Zorrilla who will be stepping in for Australian Liam Paro who pulled out of the match claiming Achilles injury.

The 29-year-old, Zorrilla, 17-1, 13Ko’s, suffering his first pro defeat dropping a ten round unanimous decision to still unbeaten Arnold Barboza Jr. last July in a rebound match, enters off a first-round stoppage of Panamanian journeyman Aristides “El Fusil” Quintero in March.

Zorrilla, will be out to spoil those plans, and the Puerto Rican promoted by the legendary Miguel Cotto, lands a golden opportunity to win his first World title on June 17, replacing the injured Liam Paro. The 29 year old held the WBO NABO title at 140lbs, highlighted by a destructive second round KO over Pablo Cesar Cano, and pushed highly rated Californian Arnold Barbosa Jr all the way in their clash in July.

“I’m glad that Zorrilla has taken the fight,” said Prograis. “Nothing changes for me; I am still working hard to go out there and prove that I am the best fighter in the world at 140lbs. I will go out, do my thing, show out for my city and defend my title with pride.

“I’m sad for Liam but we have a great replacement, and I am going to make every proud. Everyone in the city is stopping me in the street and asking me about the fight, so I cannot wait to get in there and put on a show, it’s going to be a fire fight.”

“We have waited for this opportunity for a long time in my career and it has finally arrived,” said Zorrilla. “I am ready to be a world champion, I am grateful to Prograis for giving me the opportunity but on June 17, there will be a new World champion.

“I’ve been watching Prograis for a long time and I know his style, I know I have the talent and ability to win by any means. The world will know who Zorro is.”

“Zorrilla has worked hard for this opportunity and without a doubt the time has come to fight for the World championship,” said Cotto. “Prograis is a great champion but on June 17 he will have a complete boxer in front of him, hungry and ready to be World champion.”

The 34 year old, Prograis, 28-1, 24Ko’s on a four bout KO tear since stopping the likes of Juan Heraldez, Ivan Redkach, Tyrone McKenna and Jose Zepeda suffering his first loss a majority decision to “The Tartan Tornado” Josh Taylor, October 2019.

(May 7th) WBC World Super-Lightweight champion Regis Prograis has signed a long-term promotional deal with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom – and will make the first defense of his title against Liam Paro on home soil at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Saturday June 17 – live worldwide on DAZN.

INFORMATION ON TICKET ON-SALE DATES WILL BE RELEASED EARLY NEXT WEEK

Prograis (28-1 24 KOs) became a two-time World king at 140lbs by dismantling and knocking out Jose Zepeda in 11 rounds at the feted ‘War Grounds’ of the Dignity Health in California in November.

The New Orleans native previously held the WBA title at Super-Lightweight, winning the belt against Kiryl Relikh via sixth round stoppage at the University of Louisiana in April 2019 in the semi-finals of the World Boxing Super Series, before meeting Josh Taylor in the final at The O2 in London in October in a barnstorming battle edged by the Scot.

The 34 year old returned to winning ways against Juan Heraldez, Ivan Redkach and Tyrone McKenna to lead to his win over Zepeda, and ‘Rougarou’ is looking to shine in his first fight at home since October 2018 as he aims to land the unification fights he craves in the second half of 2023, with undisputed on his mind in 2024.

“Now it’s official – I am with Matchroom,” said Prograis. “Over the last few weeks, I’ve been contemplating which move I should make next. I had a lot of good offers on the table. But I feel like Matchroom is the best for me. I just feel like it’s the right fit. From the beginning I had that gut feeling and it never left. I can’t wait to start this chapter in my career. I’ll be fighting Liam Paro in New Orleans on June 17. This is a dream come true.”

The man out to spoil that homecoming defense is the hard-hitting undefeated Queenslander that’s riding high after an explosive showing last time out. Paro (23-0 14 KOs) destroyed fellow countryman Brock Jarvis inside a round in Brisbane in October with a rocket left hook ending matters in stunning fashion.

The 27 year old is ranked at #3 with the WBO and #4 with the IBF, and lands his first World title shot in hostile territory – all the more motivation for the Aussie man to rip the belt from Prograis.

“I have been dreaming about fights like this my whole life,” said Paro. “What better way to make a mark on the 140lbs division than taking out the top guy. This is what it’s all about. I’m coming.”

“I am so excited to welcome Regis to the Matchroom team,” said Hearn. “The 140lb division is fast becoming the most exciting in the sport, littered with big names and glamour fights, so to have the WBC king in the team is a massive coup for us.

“Regis’ fights always promise action, and along with his charisma and personality, there’s a perfect blend that makes him one of the most marketable and fan-friendly fighters – and one that has told me he only wants the biggest fights in the division – unifications and undisputed.

“We have one of the best stables at the weight, and this is an all-Matchroom affair with Liam landing a dream World title shot. The Aussie destroyed fellow countryman Brock Jarvis last time out Down Under in one wild round in Brisbane, and Liam is confident that he’s going to be the one looking for those massive nights.

“Finally, I cannot wait to promote our first event in New Orleans. It’s another city to add to the growing list of places we’ve put on events in the States, and with our new three-year deal with DAZN, you can expect more great locations and more big-name signings to build in those cities.”

“This is the vision we had for Liam when he turned pro in 2016 and he has truly earned this opportunity,” said Angelo Di Carlo, ACE Boxing Group. “We're grateful to Eddie and Matchroom for delivering on their promise to secure this World title shot. Regis is the best fighter in the division and a great champion, but we have the utmost belief in Liam, and this is his time to deliver on the world stage.”

About DAZN Group
DAZN Group is one of the fastest growing sports media companies in the world. Headquartered in the UK and with employees in over 25 countries, our businesses touch every aspect of the way fans engage with sports; from production, through to content distribution and commercialization. DAZN Group is home to DAZN, the leading global sport destination, as well as the popular sport portal, DAZN News. DAZN is leading the charge to give sports fans around the world access to sport anytime, anywhere. DAZN guarantees affordable access on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles. DAZN is now live in more than 200 countries and territories after first launching in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan in 2016.

DAZN is a leading digital sports platform in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Japan, Canada, US and the UK.  Its wide range of exclusive content includes top-flight football from the world’s most popular competitions – Bundesliga, English Premier League, J.League, LaLiga, Serie A, and the UEFA Champions League, in addition to the biggest sports from around the world - Formula 1, NFL, NBA, MotoGP and the UFC.  

DAZN is the NFL’s global partner and, from the 2023 season, will be the only place for fans around the world to watch every NFL match. DAZN is a global home for boxing and combat sports through its partnerships with Matchroom Boxing the Professional Fighters League. With the most authentic voice in the sport, DAZN is the only brand that can reach across all markets and audiences cohesively in boxing, unlike any other broadcaster. DAZN is also a global home for Women’s Football with UEFA Women’s Champions League and Finetwork Liga F.  DAZN is adding more and more sport to its platform to create a destination for sports fans.  

DAZN is reimagining the way people enjoy sport. With a single, frictionless platform, sports fans can watch, bet, play, share, socialise, and buy tickets, NFTs and merchandise. Live and on-demand sports content, anywhere, in any language, on any device – only on DAZN.  

DAZN is a global, privately-owned company with employees in over 25 countries. For more information on DAZN, our products, people, and performance, visit www.dazngroup.com.  

DAZN is available on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles, ensuring that fans have access to ground-breaking rights catalogue and slate of incredible content. In the UK and globally, DAZN can be accessed on Samsung, LG, Sony and Panasonic Smart TVs and on Games Consoles including Playstation and Xbox. Subscribers also have access to DAZN on their Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast and Apple TV and find the app on their iPhone, iPad, android and mobile.  

About Matchroom Boxing

After the success of snooker in the 1980s, Matchroom Sport moved into boxing with two small hall shows followed by Frank Bruno v Joe Bugner at Tottenham Hotspur’s ground – the biggest boxing event of 1987. That launched the company into the boxing big-time, a position it has maintained ever since.

Through the 1990s Matchroom Sport’s boxing roster featured many of the biggest names in the sport including Lennox Lewis, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, Steve Collins and Naseem Hamed, all in world title fights and it continues to work with some of the biggest names in UK boxing including Audley Harrison, the 2000 Olympic Super-Heavyweight gold medalist.

Over the years, Matchroom Sport has built up long-standing relationships with broadcasters around the world and with the advent of the Prizefighter phenomenon, the company’s boxing division has never been in a stronger position.

From fantastic six round scraps between the sport’s journeymen, up to multi-million-dollar World Championship contests featuring the above fighters, the Pro Box series has it all. Each show is packed with the very best in boxing action in a series that encompasses almost 25 years of Matchroom Sport’s commitment to bringing the highest quality to the global television market.