Oscar Duarte ruined Kenneth Sims Jr’s homecoming fight in Chicago, pulling out a majority decision victory in their WBA super lightweight eliminator.
Duarte won on scores of 114-114, 115-113, and 116-112, which all seemed fair, with two of the cards giving a bit more credit to Duarte likely for his aggression and the fact that Sims fought arguably too much of the bout with his back on the ropes, something judges routinely “penalize,” or at least just don’t respect much.
Duarte (30-2-1, 23 KO) is now in line for a shot at the belt held by Gary Anuanne Russell, who has fought once per year for the last three years, fights for a company that doesn’t put on very many shows — and to whom his family has been very loyal — and has already fought in 2025, beating Jose Valenzuela for that belt on March 1.
In a gritty, hard-fought battle of faded veterans, Regis Prograis pulled out a decision win over Joseph “JoJo” Diaz on scores of 96-94, 96-94, and 98-92. You could argue 96-94 for either guy, I think, you could argue a draw, but giving Prograis eight rounds seems a bit much, at least from the TV angles.
This really was a terrific, tough fight, and a real credit to both guys. The 36-year-old Prograis (30-3, 24 KO) worked well off of his jab and wasn’t nearly as trigger-shy as he’s been in recent bouts, but he was also rocked repeatedly by Diaz (34-8-1, 15 KO), a natural featherweight who was fighting here north of 140 lbs. Prograis’ legs never looked good in the fight, but he also never went down, and the judges saw it his way.
Both guys said they felt they won the fight and showed a lot of respect toward one another, with no trash talking from either.
Prograis said he’d do a rematch for “big money” but otherwise wants to focus on winning another world title, while Diaz — who has talked about turning his personal life around after his run of losses and poor performances — was about the most upbeat guy you’ve ever seen lose a debatable fight, and says he’ll be back even though he’s 3-7-1 in his last 11 bouts now. Diaz said he’ll fight at either 135 or 140 going forward.
