Promoter Eddie Hearn is calling the fight between Jack Catterall and Regis Prograis “a mega-fight for the division,” scheduled for Aug. 24 at Co-Op Live in Manchester, England, and broadcast live on DAZN.
(Photo by Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing)
Will he be able to live up to Hahn's expectations?
For Catterall-Prograis to live up to Hearn's “mega-fight” ambitions, it will need a strong undercard featuring some of the top fighters American boxing fans want to see.
If Hearn can promote this fight hard, he could turn it into a mega-fight, but Hearn will have to do everything in his power to make Catterall-Prograis even close to being a mega-fight, because both fighters have their issues.
Prograis (29-2, 24 KOs) is coming off a loss in his last fight and is not an opponent that American fans are looking forward to seeing given his performances in his last fight last December and in his last bout against Danielito Zorrilla. The timing is poor for this bout to become a megafight.
“For me, it's the best fight at 140lbs outside of championship fights. I think Jack Catterall has become a real star,” Eddie Hearn told Matchroom Boxing regarding the news that Jack Catterall will face former WBA/WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis on August 24 in Manchester on DAZN.
Catterall's style: Potential obstacles
The styles of both Catterall and Prograis thus far could have turned this bout into a cat-and-mouse game, with Catterall either moving too far or holding back when pressured by his opponent, which is not entertaining for fans.
If Catterall could revamp his fighting style to one that would be more palatable to fans – standing his ground, resisting the urge to clinch, and landing power shots – this could be an exciting fight. Catterall has a lot of eccentricities and it's hard to watch one of his fights without first drinking some strong coffee.
“He had a great performance against Josh Taylor and it was the best atmosphere I've seen in a British arena for a long time,” Hearn said of Catterall. “He wanted to be aggressive and he told me he was going for a world title, which Liam Paro has just won. [the IBF 140-lb belt]. “
Catteral had hoped to either get a title fight against one of the current 140-pound champions or face Arnold Barboza Jr. for a title shot, but with neither option available, he will now face the 35-year-old Prograis.
“Teofimo will be on the defensive. [on June 29th]Devin Haney is in limbo. I said to him, “If you want to do something, I want to have a big boxing event on August 24th at Co-op Arena. In your backyard.” He said, “I'll fight anybody. Make it as big a fight as you can.” And we [Arnold] Barboza and those guys dropped the ball.”
With Hearn promoting IBF belt holder Liam Paro and having a good working relationship with WBC champion Devin Haney, it's hard to believe he couldn't fit Catterall into a title fight against one of the 140-pound champions.
Hearn could have worked his magic to get Catterall into a title fight with one of them, but why didn't he? Is it because Catterall is considered ratings poison, with his boring style and recent safety-first bout with Josh Taylor?
“I was speaking to Regis Prograis literally 24 hours ago and he said, 'I'm going to fight Jack Catterall in the UK. I need a big win. I had a great fight there with Josh Taylor. Let's do it,' and we got the deal done. It's a top-tier fight in the division and the card is going to be epic,” Hearn said.
With few options for fights, it's no surprise that Prograis jumped at the chance to fight Catterall in Manchester, with his career now in jeopardy after a loss to Haney.
“The arena is fantastic, 24 August will be another fantastic night for British boxing, it's hugely important,” Hearn said.
