Regis Prograis tells Josh Taylor that he’ll find ways to hurt him in final

The current WBA champion is now all that stands in the way of the Prestonpans puncher winning the WBSS tournament and coveted Muhammad Ali Trophy at the first time of asking.

Prograis, 30, sealed his spot in this year’s final courtesy of a sixth-round stoppage over Kiryl Relikh in Louisiana last month and was at the SSE Hydro on Saturday night to get a look at his next opponent in the flesh.

“That was an excellent performance from Taylor but he still took a lot of punches that he wasn’t supposed to take,” said Prograis, who is now 24 fights undefeated. “I see ways I could hurt Josh, of course. It’s always different when you get in there. But I look at him and I saw a lot of holes he needs to tighten up on. I’m going to say that. He took a lot of big shots from Baranchyk – but I hit a lot harder than Baranchyk so he can’t get hit like that from me.

“I always thought it would be me against Josh in the final. Right back when we went to Moscow at the very start to do the pairings, I always felt like it was going to be me and him. We’re the best two in the division, by far. So we were always going to be the last two standing.”

Prograis admits he was blown away by the atmosphere of a partisan Scottish crowd and admits he would relish the opportunity to fight under the lights in Glasgow when the duo go head to head in September.

“It was a terrific atmosphere, man. The Glasgow crowd was awesome,” he said. “I can’t wait to face him. We could definitely have the final here. I would come back, but we’ll see. Maybe it would be better in the States. While Josh has a big fan base, I’ve got a big support back home, too. So let’s see what we can do.

“I’m the number one fighter in this division and I intend to prove that by beating Josh.”