Jack Catterall’s promoter Eddie Hearn hopes his WBO light welterweight title eliminator against Arnold Barboza Jr. for the full belt will be when they meet on February 15 at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England.
Will Teofimo evacuate?
Matchroom promoter Hearn is banking on WBO 140lb champion Teofimo Lopez vacating his title to move up to 147 to go for bigger fights, possibly against IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Whether that happens or not, it still doesn’t work in Hearn’s favor, as Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs) may not get past the more talented Barboza Jr. (31-0, 11 KOs) on February 15 is not coming.
The only thing working in Catterall’s favor for this fight is that it’s in his neck of the woods in England, meaning he might win a decision he doesn’t rate. If the rounds are close, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were given to Catterall.
Barboza Jr. To ruin Hearn’s vision
Barboza Jr. is the far better talent of the two and figures to win this fight on the strength of his attacking prowess. Catterall is like a British version of Shakur Stevenson, an imperfect imitation of the real thing. Jack has the exact same moves as Shakur, but without the speed, reflexes and ring IQ.
“It’s a final eliminator for the WBO world title – and hopefully it can even be for the world title if Teofimo Lopez gets out of the way. Jack should already be an undisputed world champion,” Hearn said. “And there is no better way than to prove that he has earned his place at the very top by beating Arnold Barboza Jr in what is a fantastic fight in the 140lbs division.”
Hearn’s comment about how Catterall should already be the undisputed world champion is due to his controversial loss to Josh Taylor on February 26, 2022. Hearn is still reeling from that loss, but it wasn’t controversial. Taylor landed the harder shots all night and was the one on offense.
If Catterall wanted to win, he should have stayed in the pocket instead of using his Shakur-esque three-foot step-back approach every time Taylor came forward. It was so boring to watch, and it was clear that Catterall was trying to get a cheap win. The judges were having none of it.
Catterall was unwatchable in his recent fight against Regis Prograis on October 26 in Manchester. The old warrior, Prograis, dropped Catterall in the fifth and ran him down throughout the 12-round contest.
The judges gave Catterall a 12-round unanimous decision, but it was like watching one of Shakur’s fights. So boring. If the competition had been held in the US, the fans would have booed Catterall out of the arena that night. You have to be able to entertain in this era.
Fighters like Shakur and Catterall are relics of the past and don’t belong. Hearn will have a lot of work to do trying to promote the Catterall-Barboza Jr. event on February 15th.
