Jack Catterall’s August 24th fight against former light welterweight champion Regis Prograis has been postponed until October. Catterall (29-1, 13 KOs) reportedly suffered a non-serious injury and can’t fight.
Catterall’s Style: A Turn-Off for Fans
Catterall and Prograis were supposed to fight on August 24th at the Co-Op Live in Manchester. However, some fans on social media suspected that tickets weren’t selling, so the fight was postponed due to the bleak situation.
It would be better for Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn to cancel the Catterall-Prograis fight because it’s a match that hasn’t resonated with fans, who have shown no interest in watching that albatross.
Mike Coppinger hears the Catterall clash against Prograis will be moved to October. We’ll see if that happens. The fight is a bad idea in the first place because this match is poison. Catterall would be better matched against IBF 140-lb champion Liam Paro or WBO champ Teofimo Lopez rather than Prograis.
Fans haven’t been much interested in the Catterall-Prograis fight for obvious reasons. Catterall has a safety-first style of fighting, similar to Shakur Stevenson’s, and his fights are kind of hard on the eyes. Catterall’s fights are boring to watch a lot of the time.
Fans don’t enjoy watching runners and clinchers, especially when paying to watch the fights live. Catterall needs a complete revamp of his fighting style from top to bottom, but it might be undoable without breaking him.
Prograis’ Last Chance
Prograis, 35, is coming off a one-sided twelve-round unanimous decision defeat against Devin Haney last December in San Francisco. This fight is viewed as a last-chance situation for the former WBA/WBO 140-lb champion Prograis (29-2, 24 KOs) to salvage his career.
It’s a tough one for Prograis because he’s slow and not likely to do well against the Shakur-esque Catterall, who moves a lot, jabs, and clinches whenever his opponent gets in punching range.
After Catterall’s last fight against Josh Taylor in May, he made Hearn’s job harder because he wasn’t entertaining to watch. If you’re a promoter for one of the top fighters at 140, you don’t want to match them against Catterall. He moves too much, and all that holding he does is awful. It’s crowd-repellant.
Potential Landing Spot
With Catterall-Prograis postponed until October, an ideal landing spot would be on the undercard of the Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev event in Riyadh. The fight would be a good one on the undercard, and ticket sales wouldn’t be a concern. I would bury it fairly deep on that card so it’s not a drag on the event’s promotion.
Hearn has other fighters at 140 that he can match Catterall against if he decides to scrap the Prograis fight. One of these fighters would be interesting for fans as a plan B for Catterall:
- Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis
- Subriel Matias-
- Liam Paro
- Andy Cruz
- Richardson Hitchins
I suggest that Hearn pair Catterall with Boots Ennis or Andy Cruz to give him a real test. If he fails, he’ll have an excuse due to those two’s talent, but if he’s even competitive, it’s a win-win for him.
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