Jack Catterall has seen nothing in Arnold Barboza’s recent performances to concern him

Jack Catterall believes that Arnold Barboza beat a faded version of former unified junior welterweight champion Jose Carlos Ramirez.

Catterall, coming off the back of victory over Regis Prograis in October, is hoping to secure a shot at Teofimo Lopez’s WBO junior welterweight title, but first must deal with Barboza. The pair will meet in Manchester, England, on February 15 and will battle it out for the WBO interim title. Catterall, fresh from a week’s training out in Morocco, was well aware of the possibility of facing Barboza before the fight was announced and had been training for some time.

“Preparations have been good,” Catterall told BoxingScene. “We kind of knew the fight was looming a couple of weeks after the Regis [Prograis] fight. So in the back of my mind I knew a victory over Regis puts me in a strong position going into 2025.”

“So it was about getting back in the gym, looking after my body, living well. I knew about the fight for some time and I only got to know it was official probably a week prior to Christmas, but we knew weeks before then. So we’ve been in the gym, we’ve been preparing. I’m just looking forward to it now.”

Barboza is coming off a career-best win over former unified 140 pound champion Ramirez. Many believed that Ramirez would be victorious after Barboza put in a poor performance against Sean McComb, but Barboza was able to keep Ramirez at bay for 12 rounds.

“I thought he boxed well,” said Catterall. “I anticipated Ramirez to win, but for me, and this takes no shine off Barboza’s performance, I thought Ramirez looked a bit faded. We watched Ramirez pick up the belts on his way to the undisputed fight, he looked ferocious and strong. [Ramirez] was swinging wild [against Barboza], he was missing. He didn’t look like he had any resistance.

“So maybe Father Time caught up with him overnight. But again, that takes no credit away from Barboza. He did what he had to do in there. He boxed well, he boxed smart, and he beat a tremendous fighter.”

“McComb will cause problems for anybody,” he continued. “I’ve had him in the gym sparring. He’s a great lad and a good fighter. Very tricky, a tall southpaw like that. I thought [McCombe] won the fight. I thought Barboza fell under his spell and was working in McCombe’s favour. I saw the frustration in Barboza’s face. More than anything it was the advice he was being given – I don’t think it was great advice.

“There were no adjustments as the fight was going on. Sometimes you’ve got to be able to think on your feet and not come back to the corner and rely on that advice. You’ve got to be able to adapt. There wasn’t much adaptation in that fight.”

The interim title that the winner of Catterall and Barbaoza will be awarded will guarantee the winner a shot at the title that is currently the property of Lopez. However, the champion has been vocal about a move up to welterweight and he has no plans to defend against the winner of Catterall-Barboza. Thus, the winner of this fight will likely be upgraded to full champion should Lopez vacate. Catterall would then, again, be denied of his ‘And The New’ moment that all fighters crave.

“You know what, you can’t worry about it,” he said. “It’s for the interim title, in the hope that Teofimo [Lopez] sticks around and defends against me once I beat Barboza, but it’s out of my control. All I can do is turn up, beat Barboza, and I hope that he sticks around and we can get that fight in the future.

Catterall has been a victim of inactivity in the past, waiting over a year to challenge Josh Taylor for the undisputed championship – and controversially denied a victory by the judges. Since signing with Matchroom Boxing in 2023, Catterall has fought four times, and credits his recent activity to the entertaining fights he has been involved in.

“Yeah, it’s all right being in the gym but I’ve had periods in the past where I’ve been kept out in the ring for some time,” he said. “It’s frustrating, but now I’m in a position where Matchroom are keeping me active.

“I’ve been involved in some great fights. So I think it’s important going forward now; keeping this activity. Keep building momentum, building on the fights, building the fan base. I think around the board, everything gets better and better. So I think with the momentum now, staying in the gym, building on each performance and not being so long out of the ring. I think every time I’m going to get better.”

Another of British boxing’s biggest stars in Tyson Fury walked away from the sport this week – although many expect to see him back. Regardless, the stars that have headlined huge events and arenas are starting to call time on the sport or head over to Saudi Arabia for one last payday. Catterall now is one of few British fighters regularly headlining arenas in the UK but feels no pressure to put the show on the road.

“I don’t think there’s pressure,” he said. “I find myself in a great position. A lot of the big fights have gone to Saudi. A lot of the headline fighters that we’ve seen over the last five to 10 years have finished now. So there’s a gap in the market in British boxing.

“I’m in a fortunate position where I’ve had a bit of momentum, some good fights and I can fight and headline these arenas. So I’m very grateful. I think I put the pressure on myself to turn up and train hard and live well and put on a good fight for people.”