Jack Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs) scored two ninth-round knockdowns to defeat former two-time light welterweights champion Regis Prograis (29-3, 24 KOs) by a 12-round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England. Catterall was knocked down in round five from a jab from Prograis.
The fight was incredibly boring for the entire 12 rounds. Catterall resembled a dimestore version of Shakur Stevenson, running around, and choosing not to engage. Prograis looked like a classic example of an older fighter who could no longer pull the trigger.
The scores were:
– 117-108
– 116-109
– 116-109
The 35-year-old Prograis was dropped twice with left hands in the ninth round by Catterall and did nothing for the remainder of the fight. Catterall didn’t do much either, but he was still able to land a few shots to win rounds 10, 11 and 12.
“We had a cagey couple of rounds. I felt Regis’ power. He’s a strong fighter. I’ll watch it back. It felt like a slip,” said Catterall to Matchroom Boxing about being dropped in round five by Prograis.
Undercard results:
– Light welterweight Jimmy Flint (15-2-2, 3 KOs) defeated Campbell Hatton (14-2, 5 KOs) by a ten-round unanimous decision in their rematch. The scores were 97-94, 96-94 and 96-95. Boxing News 24 scored it for the 27-year-old Flint 8-2.
Hatton, 23, was at his best in the first four rounds, pressing the attack, throwing a lot of shots, and connecting well. However, he made the mistake of smothering his work by getting in too close when he’d connect with a big shot on Flint.
In round two, Hatton suffered a cut over his left eye from a clash of heads. Flint fought well in the second half, hitting Hatton with hard, eye-catching shots. Hatton still continued to outwork Flint, but he lacked power on his punches and continued to smother his shots by getting too close.
Unlike his famous father, Ricky Hatton, Campbell showed no ability to generate power at close range, and he was undermining himself by staying at close quarters. Flint’s left was swollen by the tenth round, looking in danger of closing completely. Fortunately for him, this was a ten-round contest rather than a twelve-rounder.
This has to be a disappointing loss for Campbell because he’s now twice in a row to Flint, and there’s no chance of him ever fighting on the world level against any of the talented fighters in the 140-lb division.
Getting beaten twice by Flint showed that Hatton doesn’t possess the power, skills, or ring generalship to fight among the top fighters. Flint isn’t a top-tier fighter at light welterweight, so this loss shows that Hatton isn’t going anywhere.
– Welterweight prospect Pat McCormack (6-0, 4 KOs) labored an Unimpressive 10-round unanimous decision winner over Argentinean Williams Herrera (16-4, 7 KOs). The scores were 100-90, 100-90, and 100-90.
The two-time British Olympian McCormack was cut over his left eye in the ninth round from a clash of heads with Herrera.
It was target practice for the 29-year-old McCormack for the most part, as he had far too much size and skills for Herrera, who had come into the fight having lost two out of his last three fights. However, McCormack began gassing out after six rounds and started getting hit occasionally by Herrera.
In rounds 8, 9, and 10, McCormack continued to dominate but looked dog-tired. His punches had no power on them, and he looked stressed by the pressure that Herrera was putting on him.
It was not the performance from McCormack that suggests that he’s going to be a factor at welterweight at the pro level. The way he fought tonight, he’s going to have to be protected by his promoters his entire career because he doesn’t possess the power, gas tank, or the ability to handle pressure from his opponents.
It’s the same thing we saw from McCormack in the 2020 Olympics, losing to Cuba’s Roniel Iglesias. McCormack is fine when he’s the one throwing the shots, but when he gets hit back and is pressured, he folds like a deck of cards. He’ll be fine as long as he’s kept at the British level, but if his promoters try to match him against top tier competition, it won’t end well for him.