Jack Catterall is ready for a world title shot next against WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez after beating former WBA/WBC 140-lb champ Regis Prograis on Saturday night in Manchester. Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs) says he’ll fight Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs) in Manchester or New York.
(Credit: Matthew Pover/Matchroom Boxing)
Teofimo’s immediate plans aren’t clear. He’s having promotional problems with Top Rank. Whether he stays or leaves the company, he could be moving up to 147 in search of bigger fights. Catterall would not be what Teofimo considers a well-paying fight.
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn would also like to match a fight between Catterall and Teofimo, but he admits that the better option is to face the winner of the December 7th fight between IBF light welterweight champion Liam Paro and Richardson Hitchins. Hearn promotes both fighters. So, it should be easy to set a fight up between the winner and Catterall.
“That’s up to Teofimo, but that’s an option for a fight. There’s talk of him going to 147,” said Jack Catterall during the post-fight press conference when asked if he’d like to challenge Teofimo Lopez for his WBO light welterweight title next.
“Listen, we’d love that fight in Manchester or New York. So, who knows?” said Catterall.
Teofimo has been calling out Terence Crawford, Ryan Garcia, and Devin Haney. Those are the matchups that he’s hoping to get. Catterall isn’t as popular as any of those guys right now, and he might not ever be.
“We should get ordered to fight Teofimo Lopez as well. I think it’s a great fight. Obviously, the Paro-Hitchins one is probably more realistic, and we’ll see what happens December 7th,” said Eddie Hearn to the Stomping Grounds about wanting Teofimo for Catterall’s next fight.
“Jack Catterall needs that shot at the world title. He may be the best at 140 pounds. A fantastic fighter. Within 11 months, he’s headlined in Liverpool against Linares. In Leeds against Josh Taylor, and Prograis in Manchester.
Last Updated on 10/26/2024
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