Regis Prograis isn’t rooting against Maurice Hooker.

Though their fight fell apart last year because Hooker insisted on boxing Prograis at a weight higher than their contracts stipulated, Prograis hopes Hooker succeeds for the sake of the former WBO junior welterweight champion and his family. Prograis still can’t envision Hooker upsetting Vergil Ortiz Jr. in their 12-round welterweight fight Saturday night at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas (DAZN; 9 p.m. ET).

The former WBA super lightweight champion predicted Ortiz (16-0, 16 KOs) will continue his knockout streak against Hooker (27-1-3, 18 KOs), the most accomplished opponent Ortiz has agreed to face thus far in his four-year pro career.

“I think Hooker’s gonna lose that fight,” Prograis told BoxingScene.com. “You know, I don’t root for him to lose or nothing like that, and I’m not wishing for him to lose. But I think he’ll lose. He got knocked out already by Jose Ramirez, and he’s going up against the same trainer [Robert Garcia]. Vergil Ortiz is a lot stronger than Jose Ramirez. He kind of has the same style, but he’s bigger, he’s stronger. So, yeah, I think Vergil will beat him. I think he’ll knock him out. I don’t think Maurice Hooker will be able to take that punch for 12 rounds. I think Vergil will stop him.”

Prograis thinks the taller, rangier Hooker will be able to go some rounds with the hard-hitting Ortiz. The 22-year-old Ortiz, of Grand Prairie, Texas, hasn’t boxed beyond the seventh round in any of his 16 professional fights.

“I can’t say it’ll be early or nothing like that – I don’t know,” Prograis explained. “It depends on how it goes, and it depends on what Maurice Hooker has been working on. If he’s been working on his footwork and if he keeps [Ortiz] on the outside with the long jab and the long right hand, you know, maybe he can keep [Ortiz] off for a little while. But I think Vergil will eventually get to him with that power. And then, once Hooker starts feeling that power, I think it’ll be over for him.”

Prograis (25-1, 21 KOs) and Hooker were supposed to fight last April 17 at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. That card was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When their promoters attempted to reschedule that bout, Hooker wouldn’t agree to face Prograis at their contracted catch weight of 143 pounds. New Orleans’ Prograis considers himself a junior welterweight and wouldn’t fight Hooker at the higher catch weight, 145 pounds, Hooker’s handlers demanded.

Dallas’ Hooker will oppose Ortiz at the welterweight maximum of 147 pounds. Prograis figures Hooker didn’t necessarily want to fight “a killer like Vergil Ortiz,” but he isn’t surprised Hooker took this very difficult fight.

“He probably needs money,” said Prograis, who is scheduled to fight Ukraine’s Ivan Redkach (23-5-1, 18 KOs, 1 NC) on April 17 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. “He probably don’t have nothing else. That’s the thing, a lot of guys, you know, they spend their money. They make a lot of money and they spend it. And then they need it. I think Hooker, if I’m not mistaken, he’s got like eight kids. Sh--, I’ve got three of them, and kids are expensive. He needs that money. And they’ll tell you, ‘Look, you could do this. You could get this fight, or you’re not gonna fight.’

“And, of course, what are you gonna do? Sometimes you’re like, ‘All right, I’ve gotta take this,’ because he probably needs money right now. It’s sad, but a lot of fighters fall into that same trap. They have to take fights that are very, very, very dangerous fights that they normally wouldn’t take. But they have to because they have to pay the bills. You know, that’s just how it goes sometimes.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.