Jack Catterall insists that he is ready to reap the rewards of a lifetime of hard work and finally become a world champion after beating Regis Prograis.
Catterall, 30-1 (13 KOs), and Prograis engaged in a high-class battle at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena on Saturday. A technical chess match exploded into life over the second half of the contest, and although he had to pick himself up from a flash fifth-round knockdown, Catterall dropped Prograis heavily twice in the ninth and seized control of the fight from that point onwards.
After 12 rounds most observers felt that Catterall had done more than enough over the final third to clearly win a good, close fight, but the 31 year old has learned not to put his trust in the hands of the judges. In 2022 he was denied the undisputed super-lightweight crown despite appearing to outbox and outfight Josh Taylor.
This time he needn’t have worried. The judges failed to reward Prograis for some good work over the first two thirds of the fight, and awarded Catterall, from Chorley, a wide, unanimous decision.
Catterall gave Prograis more credit than the three ringside judges when he reflected on their fight, but he reiterated his belief that he did more than enough to win.
“It’s a strange feeling and in the rematch [with Taylor] in my previous fight, the decision was read quite quickly but on Saturday it did feel like there was some time between the 12th bell and the decision being read,” he told Talksport.
“I knew I was in a tough fight – we had a couple of close rounds early on and Regis nicked a couple of rounds but I did feel I came on strong and did enough to get the victory on Saturday, so I was confident.
“I had to dig deep. Regis is a very, very experienced fighter and a two-time world champion [with] a lot of knockouts, and we knew he was strong so it was a tough fight but I was always confident that I wasn’t being denied on Saturday. It was my chance to book a world-title shot.”
Throughout the build-up, the fight between Catterall and Prograis was billed as an unofficial final eliminator for one of the junior-welterweight world titles. The name most frequently mentioned as the prize for the the winner was that of the IBF champion Liam Paro.
The talented Richardson Hitchins will have plenty to say about that when he fights Paro in Puerto Rico on December 7, but at this stage of his career, Catterall shouldn’t have any reluctance about facing any of the champions.
Where he entered the first fight with Taylor believing that he was world class, he will enter his second title fight knowing that he is, and that belief will only have been bolstered by beating Jorge Linares, Josh Taylor and Prograis over the past 12 months.
“It’s still quite fresh,” he said. “There’s been small conversations since the weekend. There are a couple of champions. We love the Teofimo [Lopez] fight. We love the Liam Paro fight. I’m gonna leave that work to Mr Sam Jones and Eddie Hearn but I’ll be ready. I’m confident – and I was told – that this fight would guarantee me a world-title fight. I was all in – I won the fight and I’m confident that they’ll deliver for me.”
Few fighters deserve a title fight more than Catterall. Not withstanding his recent run of form and his controversial defeat by Taylor, Catterall has been a contender for years. He was installed as the WBO number one when Maurice Hooker held the title all the way back in 2019, and he has stayed professional throughout some lean periods.
“I’m manifesting it,” he said. “I’ve said it before but this isn’t 10, 12, 15 weeks’ worth of work. This is a lifetime’s worth of work. I feel like with the momentum that I’ve had now over the past year, I’m in prime position for a 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
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