Regis Prograis hinted that he is considering retirement after his defeat by Jack Catterall at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena.
Catterall earned a unanimous decision over Prograis. Their contest was competitive, but the fighter from Chorley pulled away after dropping Prograis twice in round nine. Prograis, as has come to be expected of him, battled through the knockdowns, but after scores of 117-108, 116-109 and 116-109 were awarded to Catterall he accepted that his time in boxing may be over.
“Jack was the better man,” said Prograis, 35. “He deserves a world-title fight. I’ll be honest – I’ve fought the best of them. I think Jack is probably the top guy I fought. Eddie Hearn; Sam Jones; give this man a world-title shot – he definitely deserves it.
“I had my time in the sun and now it’s my turn to hand over to him. Good job, Jack. I think for now – I’ll go to bareknuckle and do something else, and let the young guys take over.”
Catterall, 31, was in high spirits after battling through suffering a knockdown in the fifth, which appeared the consequence of throwing a shot off-balance.
“I’m pleased it was a big occasion for me – a big event,” Catterall said. “It was a cagey first couple of rounds; I felt Regis’ power. I thought it was a slip.”
Catterall’s promoter, Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn, was pleased with his fighter’s performance. Hearn spoke of him next fighting the winner of the IBF junior-welterweight title fight between Liam Paro or Richardson Hitchins – and, less realistically, the WBO champion Teofimo Lopez.
“Right hand to God, this man needs a world-title shot,” said Hearn. ”We have Liam Paro fighting Richardson Hitchins on December 7 in Puerto Rico. The winner of that fight, we want to put them straight in to fight Jack Catterall next. I would love to bring Teofimo Lopez to Manchester as well and give him a good arse kicking.”
Catterall challenged Josh Taylor for the undisputed title in 2022, but saw Taylor awarded victory via the most controversial of scorecards. He earned a decision in his rematch with Taylor earlier in 2024.
Read the full article here
