Jack Catterall avenged his defeat to arch rival Josh Taylor last month, and now he isn’t wasting any time returning to the ring after it was announced that he will take on former unified world champion Regis Prograis.
Catterall defeated Taylor by unanimous decision in Leeds on May 25, and now turns his attention to a clash with Prograis, who lost his WBC super-lightweight title when he was was beaten by Devin Haney last time out in December.
Catterall and Prograis will meet at Co-Op Live in Manchester on August 24 on a Matchroom Boxing event on DAZN, and Catterall explained just why he decided to step into the ring with Prograis.
“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. 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 also discussed the bout, and has vowed to bounce back after the loss to Haney.
“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. 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.”
News on the undercard is expected in the coming weeks.
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