Promoter Eddie Hearn calls the announced Jack Catterall vs. Regis Prograis for “the biggest fight of the class” when they meet on August 24 at Co-Op Live in Manchester, England. The card will be shown live on DAZN.
(Photo credit: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing)
Can It Live Up To Expectations?
For Catteral-Prograis to live up to Hearn's expectations of a “big fight,” it will need a good undercard filled with the top names the US boxing community wants to see.
If Hearn can market the event like crazy, he can turn it into a great fight. However, Hearn will have to adjust his backside to make the Catteral vs. Prograis has been anything but a great fight because both fighters have their issues.
Prograis (29-2, 24 KOs) lost his last fight, and he's not the guy States fans were excited to see after the way he performed last December and in his previous fight with Danielito Zorrilla. The timing is bad for this war to be a big war.
“For me, it's the best fight at 140 outside of the championship fights. I think Jack Catterall has become a real star,” said Eddie Hearn on Matchroom Boxing on the news of Jack Catterall fighting Regis Prograis who was the WBA/WBC light welterweight champion on August 24 in Manchester on DAZN.
Catterall's Style: A Potential Stumbling Block
The pre-styles of Catterll and Prograis could turn this game into a cat-and-mouse affair. Catteral moves and catches a lot when pressured by his opponents, which doesn't please the fans.
It could be interesting if Catterll revamps his fighting style to be more fan-friendly by standing up, resisting his urge to duck, and throwing powerful shots. There's a lot of rabbit in Catteral, and it's a nightmare to watch without a nice cup of strong coffee first.
“He played really well against Josh Taylor in one of the best places we've seen on the British pitch for a long time,” Hearn said of Catterall. “He wanted to work. He talked to me about fighting for the world title. Liam Paro just won [the IBF 140-lb belt].”
Catterll wanted a title shot against one of the champions at 140 or a title eliminator against Arnold Barboza Jr. Neither of those had a choice, so now he's facing the 35-year-old Prograis.
“Teofimo has an upcoming defense [on June 29th]. Devin Haney is part of limbo. I said to him, 'Look, if you want to get serious, we want to open the Co-Op Arena for a big boxing event on August 24th. It's in your backyard.' He said, 'I'll fight anybody. Just make the biggest fight you can,' and we tried it [Arnold] Barboza dropped the ball.”
It's hard to believe that Hearn couldn't match Catterll with a title shot against one of the 140-year-old champions, as he has lifted the IBF belt from Liam Paro and HAS a good working relationship with WBC champion Devin Haney.
Sure, Hearn could have used his magic to set Catterall up for a title shot at one of them, but why didn't he? Is it because Catteral is considered poison in the ratings because of his boring style and his recent safety clash with Josh Taylor?
“It was 24 hours ago in an interview with Regis Prograis, and he said, 'I'm going to fight Jack Catterall in England. I need a big win. I had a big fight with Josh Taylor there. Let's do that,' we signed the fight, and it's a big fight in this division, and the card will be epic,” said Hearn.
Prograis hasn't had many fights, so it's understandable that he jumped at the chance to fight Catteral in Manchester. His career is in dire straits now because of his loss to Haney.
“The arena is fantastic, and we have another fantastic night of British boxing on the 24th of August. It's very important,” said Hearn.
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