Fans in Frenzy as Boxing Champ’s Fight Purse Cheque Bounces in a ‘Horrendously Managed Payment’

The boxing world welcomed a new WBC Light Welterweight champion on 26th November. Regis Prograis met fellow American and Long Beach, California native Jose Zepeda at Carson’s Dignity Health Sports park. Prograis established an early dominance, which Zepeda increasingly found challenging to break from.

However, regaining his composure in the tenth round was too late. A big left from Rougarou in the eleventh round threw Zepeda to the rings, forcing the referee to step in and raise his hands.

Read More: Regis Prograis Reveals Exchange of Words During a Face to Face With Terence Crawford at an Event

But the contentment over a deserving victory left in a heartbeat. The check for Regis’ purse of more than $1 million after the Jose Zepeda win reportedly bounced. He shared the details in a Tweet posted Wednesday morning.

The Bouncing Greenbacks

Per the WBC’s rules for vacant title fights, Rougarou expected to receive a $1,080,000 purse and a $240,000 bonus for winning. For better clarity, the $240,000 bonus was 10% of the winning purse offer of $2.4 million.

Marvin Rodriguez, a businessman from Southern California, promoted the contest through his company, MarvNation. It was contracted by Legendz Entertainment to promote the event; the latter is yet to receive California state’s license for fight promotions.

On expected lines, fans took to Twitter to air their views.

It takes a commoner to think like an ordinary man, right?

The executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, Andy Foster, confirmed that Legendz had more than enough money to organize the fight. The account opened at a Wells Fargo bank in Downey, California, was new, said Roger Ruiz, one of the partners at Legendz. But, in all probability, the bank temporarily froze it because of the high volume of transactions involving vast sums of money.

Prograis texted Yahoo Sports to confirm he’d received the first 50%. However, Ruiz added that bank restrictions don’t allow full payment at once. Hence, by Thursday, the due second half should be available.

As the issue appears to be on the mend, netizens raised valid concerns over reputational damage to the promoter.

Now, that’s life in the fast lane.

The Louisiana Adventurer

On 27th April 2019, the thirty-one-year-old Regis faced Belarusian Kiryl Relikh. The southpaw plugged the Belarusian’s campaign in the sixth round to establish his supremacy. The victory netted the New Orleanian his first world title, WBA Light Welterweight.

But the bout against an equally skilled and canny pugilist saw Rougarou stretched till the twelfth round. Scotsman Josh Taylor’s performance took the judges to the task. With one handing out a draw, the remaining two judges found Taylor’s performance excellent compared to Prograis’. The loss at the O2 arena did away with Regis’s recently won world title.

However, it’s been a remarkable journey for him ever since, winning all four bouts through knockouts. He is now better positioned to set up a rematch with Taylor. In addition, hopes for other lucrative and noteworthy bouts against famous names, such as Teófimo López and Gervonta Davis, look enticing and next on the list.

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