Super lightweight contenders Jack Catterall and Regis Prograis will be heading into one of the most significant bouts of their career as Matchroom Boxing confirms the two fighters will headline a card in Manchester, Lancashire, at the Co-op Live Arena, on August 24th. The bout will see the two high-ranked 140-pounders battle in a 12-round match that can heavily impact their standings, and carve open a path for a shot at a world title.
The most glaring observation that can be made is that the upcoming super lightweight (140 lbs) bout appears riskier for American contender Regis Prograis (29-2, 24 KO’s) who is coming off a December 9th unanimous decision (UD) loss to Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KO’s). British contender Jack Catterall (29-1, 13 KO’s), in comparison, appears to be abundantly in better form, having fought and won twice over the past 12 months; both against former world champions in the now-retired Jorge Linares and former undisputed 140 lbs champion Josh Taylor (19-2, 13 KO’s) who he fought roughly a month ago.
There are further indicators pointing to Catterall being the favorite, including the fact the match will be held in his home county of Lancashire, giving Catterall a firm hometown advantage in that regard. Though there are risks for Catterall involved by fighting Prograis, the American fighter has also struggled in form with his match prior to facing Haney which resulted in him only narrowly winning by split-decision (SD) against fringe Puerto Rican contender Danielito Zorrilla (17-2, 13 KO’s).
Prograis’ choice to undertake a fight with Catterall does speak well of his competitive nature, proving that his run as a two-time world champion had not commenced due to mere circumstance. Through his experience of being a world champion, Regis Prograis still poses a valid threat to Catterall who is clearly looking to position himself as a world title challenger.
Arguably, the coming battle between Catterall and Prograis can be construed to be a “big fight” given the standing of both fighters within the sport, something that the fighters themselves alluded to during their own separate interviews with Matchroom Boxing.
“I’ve waited around for big fights to happen before, sitting around waiting for title shots and it caused me a huge amount of inactivity,” The 30-year old Catterall told Matchroom, “I’ll never do that again. I asked Eddie Hearn and Sam Jones for the best available fight for August 24 and as soon as they mentioned Regis Prograis I said yes straight away.
“We were meant to fight a while back and it fell through; but now we have the opportunity to settle it in the ring on August 24. I don’t want to sit on the sidelines and I’ll never do that again.
“Regis Prograis is a fantastic fighter and he’s coming off the back of a huge PPV World Title fight against Devin Haney. He’s a former two-time World Champion, he’s been over here to the UK before, had a life and death with Josh Taylor, and I’m looking forward to sharing the ring with such a great fighter.”
Prograis, 35, shared Catterall’s excitement, remarking that the fight could be a potential stepping stone to becoming a world champion in the near future.
“This is a fight I’ve always wanted. We were supposed to fight a few years ago but it never materialised. Now is the perfect time,” stated Prograis, “I view Jack as one of the best in the world at 140lbs. It’s a great fight because Jack is eager to become a World Champion and I’m looking to become a three-time World Champion. On top of that, I’m excited to be coming back to the UK.”
Since the bout has been confirmed to take place over 12 rounds, which is usually designated for title fights or competitive bouts between two contenders, there is a possibility a mid-tier title can be introduced by the sanctioning bodies for the fight.
Additional bouts set for the August 24th card will be revealed by Matchroom in due course.
