Jack Catterall is eyeing a fight against IBF junior welterweight champion Liam Paro after his victory over Regis Prograis.
Catterall defeated Prograis last night at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester to earn himself his fourth victory in 17 months. Catterall is now widely considered one of the best fighters in the division despite not holding a world title – although many believe he should hold all four after he was controversially denied with a split decision loss against Josh Taylor in 2022. Since then, wins over former champions Prograis, Jorge Linares and Taylor – who he defeated in a rematch earlier this year – have all but secured him another chance at world honors.
“I feel like it’s been a rebirth,” said Catterall. “I linked up with Sam Jones, who then linked me up with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing. Since then, I’ve gone from strength to strength. We boxed Darragh Foley back in May last year, and since that fight, I’ve headlined three times in the UK. Right hand to God, we are getting closer to a world title.”
After a cagey start to the contests with Prograis, Catterall found himself on the floor in the fifth. The Chorley fighter fought back well, however, and in the ninth dropped Prograis heavy and did so again on the bell.
At the end of the contest, the scorecards did not reflect the pattern of the fight, with one judge only awarding Prograis two rounds. Catterall, who himself knows what it is like to be wronged by those at ringside, admitted the cards were too wide.
“I didn’t judge it whilst I was fighting, but I’ll watch it back,” he said. “I do feel like I won the fight but maybe not as wide as I heard on the first card – I said that to Regis. There’s a lot of criticism of scorecards. I’ll watch it back and score it; it did feel a bit wide, but I do feel the right man got the decision.”
After the contest Prograis was very respectful of his opponent and declared that Catterall was the best man he had faced – a huge compliment considering he has shared a ring with the likes of former undisputed champions Taylor and Devin Haney.
“Regis has been in with some great fighters, so to have them comments after the fight means a lot to me,” Catterall said. “You’ve seen this week it’s been pretty boring probably for Eddie [Hearn], but it was ‘Stand on Business’, and it was just business for Regis and me – there was a mutual respect there.”
After the victory Catterall’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, and manager, Sam Jones, promised their man a title shot in 2025. Hearn also promotes IBF junior welterweight champion Paro and Catterall believes a fight with the Australian should be easy to make, presuming he beats Richardson Hitchins on December 7.
“We know that Liam Paro is fighting Hitchins in December,” said Catterall. “We are under the same banner. This fight against Regis, we knew it was going to be a risk, but that risk put me in a great position to call the shots and hopefully, we get a shot at the IBF early next year. There are four world champions, so I’m open to fighting any of them.”
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