In what was an averagely exciting bout, Jack Catterall bested Regis Prograis in a unanimous decision victory yesterday evening, opening up the path for a potential super lightweight world title shot.
Judges at the Co-op Arena in Manchester, England, scored the matchup 117-108, and twice 116-109.
For much of the bout, both fighters kept their distance and aimed to stick their jabs, although Catterall was able to sneak in his powerful left hand at times — a sharp hook near the end of round three for example.
A wake up call for Catterall was in the fifth, where a clear slip was deemed a knockdown from a Prograis jab to the chest. Up until this point, the control of the fight was in favor of Prograis, who was boxing forward despite not landing many pressing shots.
As the fight progressed, momentum clearly shifted, for one reason in particular.
Notably, Prograis was much more defensively sound early on, looking active, engaging in slips and head movement and bouncing around the ring with looks of confidence, although it seemed that this constant activity was what truly broke him down.
To put simply: Father Time has become a reality.
Both men only truly engaged in combo punching and heavy hitting during the late rounds, where Catterall struck Prograis with his sharp left twice to put him on the canvas in round nine, also implementing his seemingly forceful one-two.
Large swings, misses and slips became all too familiar for Prograis, who by round nine — in addition to being knocked down twice — threw such a large lead hook at one point, that one could tell he had mentally packed his bags
Following the fight, Prograis simply confessed “Jack was the better man,” and that “he deserves a world title fight.” Prograis interestingly enough believes that Catterall was possibly the best competition he’s fought in the entirety of his career.
“I’ve fought the best of them and I think so far, Jack is maybe the top.”
And while Prograis claimed to outlets pre-fight that age had no impact on his current state of mind — or physical ability — he essentially admitted afterward that he realizes he doesn’t have the same energy or ring magic as in his dominant younger years.
Catterall now looks for a world title shot after winning his fourth straight, respectfully calling out Devin Haney and other top dogs on X after his victory.
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.