By James Hicken
ON SATURDAY night, Jack Catterall and Regis Prograis face off in a fight that feels like it should be for a world title, but the only thing on the line is pride and, hopefully, a shot at a world title next.
The two fighters have a high-profile opponent in common, former undisputed super-lightweight champion Josh Taylor. Both men have lost to Taylor, but Catterall is the only one who can boast a victory against the Scotsman after their grudge match earlier this year.
Prograis and Catterall meet at the intersection of two diverging paths. ‘El Gato’ is a star that continues to burn bright and is hungry for world titles, whereas Prograis may be entering the twilight of his career at 35, having held two versions of the super-lightweight strap and is looking for one last dance on the world stage.
Both men have a tall mountain to climb this weekend, but their paths to the base of this mountain have been unassociated until now, so we will take a look back to discover how this convergence has aligned.
Jack Catterall – From unknown prospect to world title contender
Jack Catterall’s career has thus far been defined by patience, a bit of bad luck and revenge. He didn’t have the amateur pedigree that we see many boxers who have entered the professional ranks in the last 10 years possess.
The Lancashire man started modestly in the professional ranks, debuting in 2012 against Carl Allen and didn’t have his first 10-round fight until 2014 when he fought the undefeated Liverpudlian prospect Nathan Brough to claim the Central Area super-lightweight title.
His career seemed to be on a fast track at this early stage, as less than three months later, he found himself fighting for the WBO European super lightweight title against another undefeated Liverpudlian prospect and 2012 Olympian, Tom Stalker. He dismantled Stalker inside the distance, showing great poise and maturity.
Speaking on toppling two undefeated prospects and an Olympian, ‘El Gato’ said:
“The Nathan fight gave me so much confidence and I struck whilst the iron was hot.”
The name ‘Catterall’ then began to spread as he took home the WBO Inter-Continental title in 2015, which he defended nine times before the end of 2018, taking names such as Martin Gethin and Ohara Davies along the way.
He took a hiatus from the WBO pathway to claim the British super-lightweight title in 2017, winning unanimously against Tyrone Nurse. Catterall, however, made a career decision and shortly vacated the belt in pursuit of world honours with the WBO.
The slick southpaw style of Catterall was capturing the imagination of fight fans and his long reign as the Inter-Continental champion was finally rewarded by the WBO when they announced that he was the mandatory challenger for current champion Maurice Hooker.
The WBO then, shortly after Catterall had taken a stay-busy fight in April, announced a unification bout between Hooker and the WBC champion Jose Ramirez (pictured below).
Ed Mulholland/Matchroom
This was yet another frustration, on a bad run of luck in the labyrinth of sanctioning bodies and promotional agencies for Catterall, who was forced to wait once again as the new unified champ Ramirez chose to face his WBC mandatory instead of him. Catterall remained hopeful with the understanding that he would face the winner.
Catterall vs. Ramirez never came to be as Catterall took a step-aside deal so that Ramirez could face the WBA, IBF, and The Ring champion, Josh Taylor, to decide who the undisputed super-lightweight champion was in May 2021.
Taylor beat Ramirez and was happy to oblige Catterall due to his graciousness in stepping aside for the chance to become the undisputed champion. After an injury delay, the fight was finally set for February 2022.
Catterall, in the biggest test of his career and what could’ve been his announcement as boxing’s next megastar in the making, performed with absolute class. He countered Josh Taylor with ease, landing blistering southpaw combinations that dropped Taylor and made him chase shadows around the ring for 12 rounds.
Lawrence Lustig
The fight between Taylor and Catterall has been described as the biggest robbery in British boxing history and Johnny Nelson even said that “it’s decisions like this that put casual fans off. Josh Taylor did not win that fight”. Fans were outraged as the scorecards were read out to reveal a split decision win for Josh Taylor, with one judge even having the score as 114-111 for Taylor.
There was a massive outcry for a rematch between the two, which, of course, Catterall was more than enthusiastic about. Taylor seemed more subdued at the prospect, which planted doubt into the minds of the fans. It seemed to be dead and buried when both fighters moved on to other opponents in 2023, with Catterall picking up two impressive wins against Darragh Foley and former three-weight world champion Jorge Linares.
After 813 days, the rematch was finally made. Labelled “Hate Runs Deep,” the build-up was fierce, staying true to its billing, with physical confrontations and emotions running high throughout.
Although no belts would be on the line for this fight, ‘El Gato’ made it clear that this transcended championship glory and had become a personal vendetta.
“This isn’t about belts, this is personal to me and I can’t wait to get my hands on him. I don’t like him, I don’t respect him and on April 27th I’m going to end him”, Catterall told the media before their originally scheduled rematch in April.
The fight went in a similar fashion to the first. The Lancashire native landed clean, eye-catching counters and combinations with ease through the first half of the fight and, in the eyes of many, didn’t drop a round.
A resurgent Taylor gave his best, using his experience to get close to Catterall as he seemed to be taking his foot off the pedal in the latter stages, clawing back a few of the late rounds, but it was not enough.
All three judges scored it for Catterall with similarly large margins, and all who watched and attended knew the fight had gone to the right man who claimed both revenge and redemption.
Catterall’s eyes will now be firmly set on a world title, and his next and potentially final stepping stone will be the ageing former champion in 35-year-old Regis Prograis…
