Postponed from the late summer, this Saturday night’s fight between 140-pounders Jack Catterall and Regis Prograis could prove to be a surprisingly fun affair. With precious little hype, no real trash-talk from either side, and no world title on the line, it’s probably fair to say most fans are not expecting too much from the fight that will take place in Manchester. But this is just the kind of playing field where a great fight can spring up. A surprisingly great fight.
Catterall, coming off that big revenge win over common opponent Josh Taylor, who holds decision wins over both of Saturday’s fighters (a most contentious decision win over Catterall, the 2022 points win awarded to Josh seen as one of the most controversial in many a year), feels a win over former two-time 140-pound title winner Prograis will springboard him into a world title shot. Prograis feels he will ruin Catterall’s recent unbeaten run.
Speaking with RingTV.com, New Orleans’ Prograis said Saturday’s fight is “the biggest fight you could make at 140 without the belts being on the line.”
Maybe so, and maybe we fans will be the real winners on Saturday.
“Right now is the perfect time,” Prograis said as far as him fighting Jack. “This is the biggest fight you could make at 140 without the belts being on the line, so I think it’s the perfect time for me and him to finally make the fight happen. As long as I’m Regis, the person who got to the top twice already, and as long as that person shows up, I’m fine, and I feel like that person hasn’t been around for a while. I feel I am getting back to my groove being me and what got me to the top in the first place. If that Regis shows up, it won’t be a hard fight.”
It wasn’t “the real Regis” back in Prograis’ last fight when Devin Haney routed him in December. But Prograis, at age 35 and with a 29-2(24) record, says that fight, that performance, was the result of him having “the worst night of my career and he had the best.”
On Saturday, Prograis needs to, and he feels he will make Catterall have the worst night of his career. But Catterall, who has youth at age 31, as well as home country advantage on his side, is taking a different fight. Catterall, 29-1(13), aims to dominate Prograis and then move into some bigger fights.
It could be a close fight on Saturday, and it could be a lively, even thrilling fight. Prograis against Taylor from 2019 was a brilliant fight, and so too was Catterall’s rematch win over Josh from May of this year. Now, hopefully, Catterall and Prograis will bring out the best in each other when they clash on Saturday in another all-southpaw match-up.
By a close, fiercely competitive decision, Catterall is the pick to win here. But this one really could go either way.
