The nature of Josh Taylor’s victory over Regis Prograis in what was a Fight of the Year contender over the weekend gave WBN a Pound for Pound headache on Monday morning.
Taylor won a wafer-thin majority decision (much too wide with one of the judges) to claim the World Boxing Super Series Ali Trophy in a barnstorming battle.
The Scot took most of the post-fight accolades, whilst American Prograis was applauded for his sporting nature.
Pictured the next day boasting the scars of battle, Taylor and Prograis are now firm friends after beating each other to a pulp.
Last night we tried to beat the shit out of each other and now we all good. Congratulations to @JoshTaylorBoxer. You’re one hell of a fighter. Can’t wait to see what’s next for you and maybe a rematch later down the line. This is why I love the sport of boxing! #AliTrophy ⚜️🐺 pic.twitter.com/OaCPT3ZRCA
— Rougarou (@RPrograis) October 27, 2019
Prograis vs Taylor
Neither have ever been hurt the way they were on Saturday night at The O2, and for our money, a draw would have been the fairer result in reflection.
WBSS rules made this impossible to happen anyway due to the fourth judge, so being away from home made it all the more difficult for Prograis.
After a turbulent few months for boxing, with several tragic incidents and deaths, the sport has been solidified over the last month.
Amazing encounters featuring Errol Spence and Shawn Porter, plus the Taylor vs Prograis effort, give a timely reminder of why boxing is so popular.
The loss of Patrick Day inbetween was a sobering reminder of the dangers.
Prograis and Taylor laid it all on the line. They wanted that victory so badly, and in the end, the result could have gone either way.
Therefore, WBN has decided to elevate Prograis from 45th in the P4P Ratings to 25, one place behind Taylor in 24th.
As inseparable as they were in London, WBN would like to mimic that in the newly-published P4P Top 50.
‘The Tartan Tornado’ slots in just behind unified heavyweight king Andy Ruiz Jr. in a list that is packed with the best talent around.
Jose Ramirez remains above Taylor, in 18th place though. This is due to his destructive win over Maurice Hooker.
The WBC and WBO ruler went into the clash with Hooker in a 50-50 capacity of two undefeated champions, like in the Taylor vs Prograis collision. So the way he took care of business keeps him just above his main rival.
Mikey Garcia is yet to fully outline his future. For this reason, the multi-weight champion remains the number one at 140 until further notice.
Once Garcia announces his weight class intentions officially, Ramirez will then take the number one spot.
WBN TOP 25 P4P LIST – OCTOBER 2019
1 Vasyl Lomachenko
2 Canelo Alvarez
3 Errol Spence
4 Manny Pacquiao
5 Gennady Golovkin
6 Naoya Inoue
7 Terence Crawford
8 Oleksandr Usyk
9 Juan Estrada
10 Tyson Fury
11 Mikey Garcia
12 Donnie Nietes
13 Kosei Tanaka
14 Deontay Wilder
15 Wanheng Menayothin
16 Kazuto Ioka
17 Shawn Porter
18 Jose Ramirez
19 Artur Beterbiev
20 Nonito Donaire
21 Leo Santa Cruz
22 Miguel Berchelt
23 Andy Ruiz Jr.
24 Josh Taylor
25 Regis Prograis
View the full Pound for Pound Top 50 HERE
WBN DIVISIONAL RANKINGS
Super Lightweight – October 2019
1 Mikey Garcia
2 Jose Ramirez
3 Josh Taylor
4 Regis Prograis
5 Viktor Postol