WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis, Devin Haney, and their teams went at it today at the final press conference for Saturday’s event on December 9th.
While the fighters themselves were largely overshadowed by the personalities of their respective camps, the event generated massive interest and excitement for the upcoming clash at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
Bill Haney and Evins Tobler Steal the Show:
Like in the kick-off press conference, Devin’s dad, Bill Haney, and Prograis’ strength coach, Evins Tobler, did most of the talking with their back-and-forth insults.
You have to commend both of those two for doing a bang-up job during the promotion for the event, as they made it one of the best this year.
What’s interesting is that the fighters, Haney & Prograis, were in the background for the most part during the press conferences, as they were overshadowed by the charisma and stage presence of Tobler & Bill.
The face-off before the sunglass-wearing challenger Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) and Prograis (29-1, 24 KOs) was interesting, with both fighters talking nonstop. It was difficult to hear what they were saying, unfortunately, but you could tell they weren’t saying niceties to one another.
Bill Haney: “What do you got to do when you got to pick up the Rougarou? The execution date is Saturday.”
Evins Tobler: “Tell the people the truth. Your son can’t take a punch.”
Devin Haney: “Regis got dropped in his last fight.”
Tobler: “We ain’t doing nothing. We’ve been picking up mother f****s. We’ve picked up 24, and your son is going to be 25.”
Bill: “This is not staged. Regis is a hell of a champ out of that blue-collar city of New Orleans. We don’t take anything away from him and what his team has done, but it speaks volumes to who Devin is.
“To bring Regis Rougarou to our hometown as a challenger. Can you think that? We just best Lomachenko and become undisputed.”
Tobler: “He lost to Lomachenko.”
Bill: “What we thought was really important is you bring a big dummy.”
Tobler: “He lost to Lomachenko.”
Haney: “He [Prograis] lost to a bum [Danilieto Zorrilla] in his last fight and he got dropped.”
Tobler: “Shut up, Devin.”
Haney: “Shut up. You a gigolo. You a stripper.”
Tobler: “I told you what the deal is. You’re going to get knocked out, son.”
Bill: “Nobody wanted problems [Prograis] out of this team. Eddie signed him because Eddie is a smart man and he’s a tough competitor. We look forward to Saturday. I hope you guys are healthy and you don’t have no excuses. Do you, fat head?”
Tobler: “We don’t ever have no excuses. And still.”
Bill: “How long did you work on that hook?”
Tobler: “Your son is going to find out.”
Regis Prograis: “I’m going to hurt you, bro. I’m going to knock you out.”
Bill: “You’re getting knocked out.”
Tobler: “You’re a goddamn lie.”
Bill: “Let me tell you what the difference is because you’re tough. You’re the Rougarou, right? You going to run like a b***. I bet you.”
Tobler: “Your son is going to run like a b***.”
Bill: “Watch him run, y’all. Watch him run.”
Tobler: “Let your son come to fight. Bring his a** to the middle of the ring. He’s been running his whole career. He ran from every opponent he had, but this time, he ain’t going to run because the mother f*** Rougarou is going to bust his a**.”
Bill: “They don’t have a plan. We are going to administer punishment on him.”
Tobler: “You ain’t going to do s***. You’ve not done s*** you’re whole career.”
Bill: “We going to hit him with the kitchen sink, and it’s going to be up to the big dummy.”
Tobler: “Who did he knock out? He ain’t had a knockout in four years. Answer that.”
Haney: “You’ll see.”
Eddie Hearn: “Bill, question. In the mindset of a lot of fans, Devin does box & move. You’re calling here, saying ‘What are you going to have to do when you pick up the Rougarou.’ You talk about this guy [Prograis] running. Is this what you expect from this guy in this fight?”
Bill: “He’s going to be looking at the lights.”
Hearn: “You’re saying that Devin is going to win this fight by knockout?”
Bill: “We’re professionals. Devin is a master technician, but Regis Prograis, he’s going to be looking up at the lights. I guarantee that.”
Tobler: “You can’t say that straight.”
Prograis: “He’s never knocked out nobody. How the f*** is he going to knock me out? What are you talking about, Bill? Come on. Cut the bull s***. Who did you knock out? Nobody. This is not your hometown. What the f*** are you talking about?
Bill: “Are you going to come and fight or are you going to run like a b***.”
Tobler: “You won’t stay in the building. He’s going to keep the belt.”
Bill: “He’s going to try and stink up the show. When didn’t bring you this far for that. Are you going to come and fight?”
Tobler: “What the f*** are you talking about?”
Prograis: “I’m going to beat your son’s a**. I’m f**** him up. I’m f**** your son up, bro.”
Haney: “I’m going to beat the f*** out of you. You’ll see. You’re slow. You’re a one-trick pony. You’re slow. You do the same thing every fight.”
Bill: “You act like your hard. What neighborhood are you from?”
Prograis: “I’m from New Orleans, East. Where is Devin from? Henderson, Nevada. Private school kid. Y’all got crackheads over there.”
Haney: “Saturday, it’s going to be a great day for me and my team. I’m going in there to hurt him, and dismantle him, and show that I’m on a different level. The world will see how great Devin Haney really is.”
Hearn: “When we picked this venue out in San Francisco, I don’t believe anyone thought we would sell this entire arena out. We sold out the bottom tier. We’re on the verge of selling out the top tier as well.
“The interest, the promo. You guys have done an incredible job. this is a massive fight for your career over the weekend.”
Haney: “This is a massive event for boxing. I knew it would be a big event coming back here, and now the time is almost here. Tune in.”
