Even by boxing retirement standards, Regis Prograis’ return to the sport is extraordinarily quick.

The Ring has confirmed that the former two-time 140-pound titlist has been in talks for a showdown with Mexico’s Oscar Duarte.

Whatever negotiations have taken place thus far will have to wrap up in a hurry given the targeted date. Rumors place the matchup to headline a February 15 DAZN show from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Golden Boy Promotions, who represents Duarte, would present the event, if a deal can be reached in time.

Officials with intimate knowledge of the development informed The Ring—on the condition of anonymity—that the two sides opened talks before the year-end holiday season. All involved parties were pleased with the progress made prior to Christmas and picked up at the start of the new year.

The plans come in stark contrast to where Prograis (29-3, 24 KOs) left off. The 35-year-old southpaw claimed to have been done with the sport immediately after his lopsided defeat to England’s Jack Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs), The Ring’s No. 2 140-pound contender, on Oct. 26 in Manchester, England.

Prograis suffered his second straight defeat and admitted that he could no longer compete at the sport's elite level. He previously landed on the wrong end of a 12-round shutout to Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs; 1 No-Contest) in Dec. 2023.

A five-fight win streak was snapped, in addition to the end of his WBC 140-pound title reign. Prograis also held the WBA belt, which he lost to then-unbeaten Josh Taylor (15-0 at the time) in their Oct. 2019 World Boxing Super Series finale and WBA/IBF unification bout in London.

Duarte (28-2-1, 22 KOs) strangely gained a significant profile boost in defeat. The 28-year-old Mexican slugger was valiant in an eighth-round knockout loss to Ryan Garcia in Dec. 2023, one week prior to Haney-Prograis.

Two wins have followed for Duarte, both in a productive 2024 campaign. He stopped former 130-pound titlist Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz in the ninth round last April 27 in Fresno, California. The feat was followed by a ten-round points victory over Batyr Akhmedov in their terrific Nov. 16 shootout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.