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Jack Catterall Clocks In, Collects The Win
Behind the strength of two knockdowns, Jack Catterall of Chorley, England, won a decision victory in the inaugural fight card at the new Co-Op Live arena in Manchester, England, over Regis Prograis of Houston.
Hearing the scores, Prograis accepted his fate long before he heard the winner’s name. Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs) wins with cards of 117-108, 116-109, and 116-109. He earns the WBO International Super Lightweight and becomes an obvious challenger to current WBO champion Teofimo Lopez.
Regis Prograis knew when he heard the first score that Jack Catterall was the winner. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing
Jack Catterall wins
Catterall had nothing but compliments for his opponent. “A tremendous fighter in Regis, I knew he had to be on the game. Regis just come tonight to give me a hell of a fight. So, I’m happy with that.”
Prograis was gracious in defeat. “I’m not gonna lie. I just feel like he was the better man. He deserves a world title fight. I mean, I think, to be honest, I fought the best of them. So far, I think Jack is probably the top I fought. So, he definitely deserves the world title next. Give this man a round of applause. Hope Eddie Hearn and Sam Jones do the right thing.”
Slow, Steady Start to Catterall vs Prograis
Regis Prograis caught Jack Catterall with a right to the torso, scoring a fifth-round knockdown. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing
Both men proceeded cautiously through the first third of the fight. Prograis employed head and foot feints, trying to catch Catterall. Both men landed fewer than 20 total pinches apiece in the first three rounds.
In the fifth round, Prograis caught Catterall with a right hand to the shoulder girdle, and Catterall was thrown off balance enough to put a glove down on the canvas. Referee John Latham caught it and properly called the knockdown.
“We had a cagey couple of rounds. I felt Regis’ power. Obviously, he’s a strong fighter. I was coming forward, throwing some shots. I got hit, I felt the slip, I went over,” explained Catterall. “I wasn’t buzzed, but it was a 10-8 round, and I knew I had to get it back.
“And Jamie (trainer Jamie Moore) said, ‘Look, we’re starting to slip behind now.’ I knew I couldn’t take too many gambles. He’s a hell of a fighter, two-time world champion, so I think I come back into it. Scored the two knockdowns and started to progress from that.”
Prograis Gets Fired Up
Through the first half of the fight, Regis Prograis was highly competitive with Jack Catterall. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing
Prograis came out for the sixth round with renewed energy and purpose after the knockdown. He threw harder shots, following the jabs now with a left hand. It forced Catterall to return fire. The crowd urged Catterall to engage.
“We had to stay disciplined. We couldn’t take too many risks after that strong run. I knew I needed to press, but at the same time you don’t want to go in there reckless against a strong fighter like Regis,” said Catterall.
Prograis threw looping overhead left hands with knockouts in mind, but many missed the mark as Catterall dodged them. A minor clash of heads caused a cut under Prograis’s right eye, who continued to pursue Catterall around the ring. Catterall suffered a cut at the peak of his head where the two connected.
In the eighth round, the pair exchanged power punches and fell to the canvas together in a heap midround. Prograis’ upper body movement made it tough for Catterall to catch him to the head, but he had more success punching to the center mass.
Catterall Catches Fire in the Ninth
Jack Catterall landed a one-two combination to score his first of two knockdowns. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing
With Catterall continuing to fight off the back foot and counterpunch, Catterall caught Prograis with a straightforward one-two, landing a left hook perfectly on the chin with 40 seconds left. Prograis fell straight back.
Catterall unloaded with the time he had left as Prograis backed off to settle himself. At the 10-second warning, Prograis went down again, a terrible turn of events all but sealing his fate. Only a knockout would save the fight for Prograis.
The crowd at the Co-Op Live knew it and cheered Catterall on down the stretch. Catterall was cautious, knowing he had the knockdowns in the bank. Catterall remained content mainly to wait and counterpunch Prograis as needed.
Regis Prograis could not come back from the two knockdowns in the ninth round. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing
In the 12th round, things went from bad to dire when Prograis slipped on a large canvas logo and shook his right foot. He could not set his feet to punch and could only survive to the final bell.
“I think maybe 12 rounds might be too much for me. I started fading in the later rounds,” admitted the 35-year-old Prograis. “I hurt my knee, I hurt my ankle. It’s because it’s just getting too long.”
Prograis said it might be time to move over to the bare-knuckle boxing circuit or do something else and “let the young guys take over.” If he does, Prograis leaves the sport as a two-division champion who always handled himself with class. He endured multiple hardships, including being displaced by two major hurricanes, Katrina in New Orleans in 2016 and Harvey in Houston a year later. He lost everything but persevered without complaint.
Jack Catterall: Only Title Fights In The Building
Regis Prograis congratulated Jack Catterall and said he would consider moving on, perhaps to bare knuckle boxing. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing
Catterall said he and his new bride would finally get a honeymoon, likely in Puerto Rico to take in the Liam Paro vs Richardson Hitchins title fight on December 7, setting up an opportunity for him.
“There are plenty of big fights in my division. Eddie’s the man. Matchroom has all the world champions. I want a world title next,” said Catterall.
Matchroom Sport chairman Eddie Hearn praised Catterall as “the most underrated fighter in the world, right? In 11 months, he’s headlined in Liverpool. He beat Jorge Linares. He’s headlined in Leeds. He beat Josh Taylor, and now he’s headlined for the first time at Co Op Live in Manchester and beat Regis Prograis, all in 11 months.”
Hearn agreed the winner of Paro vs Hitchins is an obvious matchup for Catterall, but has another matchup firmly in sight.
“I would love to bring Teofimo Lopez to Manchester as well and give him a good ass kicking. I would love to see that,” said Hearn.
“Jack Catterall, I believe, could well be the number one in the division. Time to finally prove it.”
Undercard: Flint vs Hatton 2 Delivers a Repeat
James Flint won his rematch with Campbell Hatton. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing
The rematch between James Flint of Doncaster (15-2-2, 3 KOs) and Campbell Hatton of Hyde (14-2, 5 KOs) was elevated to the co-main event. If you liked the first fight, you enjoyed the rematch as Flint again scored a decision over Hatton with scorecards of 97-94, 96-95, and 96-94.
The pair picked up right where they left off, grinding away at close quarters. Neither could land a lights-out punch or gain momentum. Hatton hadn’t added any new wrinkles in the six months since the last fight, and Flint again prevailed.
The scheduled co-main event between Reece Bellotti (19-5, 4 KOs) and Michael Gomez Jr (21-1, 6 KOs) for Bellotti’s British and Commonwealth Super-Featherweight titles was canceled just an hour ahead of the fight when Gomez Jr. became ill in his dressing room.
