Regis Prograis faces off against Jack Catterall this Saturday at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England, and controversy during the press conference makes for a potentially more entertaining bout than expected.
Prograis is entering his latter career years, most recently coming off of a unanimous decision loss against Devin Haney in December of last year – who took his WBC super lightweight strap in clear, dominant fashion. But, it’s worth mentioning that Prograis has had consistent luck against numerous southpaws, picking up wins from the likes of guys such as Jose Zepeda and Terry Flanagan.
Meanwhile, Catterall’s last bout was a unanimous decision win against rival Josh Taylor, who he controversially lost to back in 2022 when challenging for undisputed.
A victory for Catterall could lead to another shot at a title belt, as for the 35-year-old Prograis, yet a win for Prograis almost seems like a career necessity to prove to the boxing world that he is, in fact, not in a state of decline due to age, lack of activity – fighting for the first time this year – or anything else.
Breaking down each fighter, Prograis is slicker with speed, although we’ve seen how accurate shots to the chin can rock him, in his lop-sided loss to Haney for example, despite his claims that Haney had the softest punches he’d ever felt.
Prograis has told the mainstream boxing media that he feels better than ever, and if true, he must fight like his future depends on it — because again, it may, in terms of significant, world title fights for a hardly active former champion.
Catterall on the other hand is sneaky, as he rolls in a Philly-shell-like defense, and is not afraid to slug it out toe-to-toe. He is also arguably in his prime at 31-years-old.
Nonetheless, controversy makes for popcorn and views, in a fight that may not have necessarily gone beyond the eyes of die-hard boxing fans, or those itching for a Catterall victory across the pond in England.
Catterall’s manager Sam Jones exclaimed in a voice memo to Prograis, some years before he personally knew Catterall, and when he was managing Prograis, that he believed the Louisiana native would “flatten him [Catterall].” Prograis played the recording through the press conference, evidently looking to mentally drag his opponent and their team.
Jones previously voiced that Prograis was a “different guy to Josh Taylor,” as he was once trying to make this same fight. But, some years later, his statements coming to light could harm the mindset of his world titlist hopeful in Catterall.
Does Jones just think that now, because he’s switched between fighters, that his initial analysis is simply irrelevant?
Saturday will be the day to find out.
Jack Walsh is a New York-based journalist, currently working at a television station as a real time editor, and also an amateur boxer. He hopes to continue diving into the journalistic side of boxing and provide a unique, independent perspective. His work has also appeared in Boxing News Online.