Jack Catterall has had a few weeks to recover from October’s decision victory over Regis Prograis and is ready to begin planning a big 2025.
In recent days, Catterall has revealed that his preparations for the fight had been severely hampered by damaged ribs and a heavy cold.
The fight itself wasn’t exactly straightforward, either. Catterall, 30-1 (13 KOs), took a count for the first time in his career but dropped Prograis twice and pulled away down the stretch to earn an exciting, hard-fought win.
With Louisiana’s Prograis now in his rear-view mirror, the 31-year-old Catterall can look back on the fight as a job well done.
“Yeah, I think it went well,” Catterall told BoxingScene. “I did what I needed to do. I don’t think it was my greatest performance.
“That said, he’s a former two-time world champion. It was a good fight, a tough fight, but I got the victory. His record speaks for itself. He’s a very strong fighter, and I knew in the first round he definitely carries that knockout power. That’s obviously why he’s got so many knockouts on his record. But I always was confident that I had the ability and the boxing brain and the toughness to beat him.”
Catterall’s fight with Prograis was the first boxing event to be held at the new Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester, England. After outboxing Jorge Linares and battling to a crucial victory in his grudge match with Josh Taylor, Catterall was making his third successive headline appearance – proof positive that he is now one of Britain’s leading attractions.
Catterall spent years looking for recognition but kept plugging away until he earned it. He isn’t the type to crave the spotlight, but he does like to be rewarded for his efforts.
“Center of attention is the wrong way of putting it, but it was a nice feeling to be able to headline the Co-Op Arena and really put what’s been a frustrating few years behind me now,” he said. “To have the momentum after the last couple of fights I’ve had and then to get a big fight in my hometown, so to speak, it was a good feeling.”
Catterall’s priority now is to secure that elusive world title belt. He will be back in Manchester in February, but although the opponent won’t be confirmed for a few more weeks, it does seem to be shaping up as a fight with serious world title implications.
Australia’s Liam Paro, 25-0 (15 KOs), the IBF junior welterweight titleholder, will defend his title against Richardson Hitchins, 18-0 (7 KOs), in Puerto Rico on Saturday, making it unlikely that he would be willing or able to turn around so quickly. But there is another option.
Last week the WBO ordered a final eliminator between Catterall and Arnold Barboza, 31-0 (11 KOs). With WBO titleholder Teofimo Lopez debating whether to move up to welterweight, a fight between Catterall and Barboza could end up earning the winner a bigger prize than a mandatory challenger’s spot. But, having come this far, Catterall isn’t going to leap into a decision. He will sit back and see what happens over the next couple of weeks before deciding which route to pursue.
“We probably won’t rush into a decision when we’ve got Liam Paro fighting next weekend,” Catterall said. “We want to fight for the world title.
“Lopez is the WBO champion now. I’d love a fight with Barbosa to be for the world title. Lopez has hinted at moving up, so if he’s going to do that, move up and let us fight for the title. Barbosa’s been in the position I was for quite some time, where we’ve been mandatory and been at the No. 1 spot. I got fucked around for so long.
“It’d be nice now for something to happen and us to fight for the world title.”
John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79
