Regis Prograis says he’d like to resume his 12-year professional career, possibly at 147, after losing to defensive artist Jack Catterall by a twelve-round unanimous decision last Saturday night at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.
Prograis (29-3, 24 KOs) states that he’s been at 140 his entire career and wants to move up to welterweight to try that. He had wanted to become a three-time light welterweight champion, but after losing to Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs), he feels that moving up to 147 might be the best option, short of retiring.
In hindsight, it was a bad move on Prograis’ part to fight a defensive fighter like Catterall, who is a light version of Shakur Stevenson with his retreating style of fighting. Prograis had already lost to finesse fighter Devin Haney last December, who used a lot of movement and holding to neutralize his offense.
Choosing Catterall was foolish. If that’s all Prograis’ promoter Eddie Hearn offered him, he should have declined the offer and sat inactive because fighting Catterall hurt his career. Prograis still has more to give, but he needs to be more strategic about the type of fights that he takes. When Hearn offered Prograis a fight against Catterall, he should have said no to the match. That’s not the type of style that Prograis has ever done well against.
Catterall is a good fighter, but he’s a basic runner with a Shakur style and is very beatable. He would have lost to someone who could chase him around the ring and trap him into fighting. He’ll likely lose to IBF light welterweight champion Liam Paro in 2025 if he’s the one he faces for that belt. Paro is defending against Richardson Hitchins next on December 7th in Puerto Rico.
“Maybe give it a try at 147. I’ve been at 140 my whole career, and I am getting older. I’ve always wanted to put on weight, and I stayed at 140 for a long time,” said Regis Prograis to Boxing News, discussing the possibility of moving up to welterweight after his loss to Jack Catterall last Saturday night.
“So, maybe it’s time to go up to 147. We’ll see how it happens. I’ve been pushing my body for a long time, but now, I think it would be time to go up. I wanted to be a three-time champion, but now, maybe it’s time to go up and put some size on my body. That’s what I’ve been doing for a long time. I’ve been making 140 since I turned pro [in 2012].
“So, maybe me and Josh [Taylor] can do something at 147, but I’m not worried about fighting right now. I’m going to go back to the drawing board and see what I do. I think this might be my last fight at 140. I really wanted to be a three-time champion, but sometimes, it might not be for you. Right now, it might not be for me. So, either go up to 147 or do something else,” said Prograis.
Taylor would be a good option if Prograis boxes him because he did well when he stayed on the outside in the second half of their fight in 2019. Where Prograis struggled was when he tried to fight Taylor on the inside in the first half of the contest and got chewed up.
“But as everyone knows, I change my mind every three seconds. So, I might say something tomorrow, ‘I’m going back to 140.’ It depends. We’ll see,” said Prograis.
If Prograis does choose to continue, he should target WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios because he can beat him. Barrios is a slugger, and he doesn’t run around the ring like Catterall and Haney. He’ll come to fight Prograis, which would be an excellent matchup.
Prograis needs to work on his cardio because he lost steam at the midpoint against Catterall and gassed out in his losses to Haney and Josh Taylor.
