Jack Catterall says that Haney fight wouldn’t happen

When asked if defeating Giyasov was the biggest win of his career, Catterall pointed to the importance of the fight and how it changed his position in the welterweight division.

“I would say so. Now followed by the Taylor rematch,” Catterall told InsideRingShow. “It was right up there for me. We were on the WBO route there. We were chasing Devin Haney. It wasn’t going to happen. So we jumped at the chance to fight Shakhram. And what an event. What a fighter. I enjoyed every minute of it.”

The commentary offers a look at how Catterall’s career has changed course over the past year. Haney became one of the top names in welterweight after moving up from junior welterweight, while Catterall looked to position himself for a title opportunity.

Instead, he accepted a dangerous fight against Giyasov on the Oleksandr Usyk-Rico Verhoeven undercard in Egypt. The gamble paid off. Catterall defeated Giyasov to capture the WBA regular welterweight title and put himself firmly in the title picture.

The Manchester southpaw also explained why his win over Josh Taylor still has special meaning despite ranking the Giyasov victory slightly higher.

“It became very personal for me, more than anything, to prove myself,” Catterall said. “In the first fight, people said, well, he overlooked you, he didn’t train right. I said, okay, let’s start again. It looked like the fight wasn’t going to happen for a while, but it did. It felt personal. It was great to get the right decision in the rematch.”

Whether a fight with Haney could be revived remains unclear. Catterall now owns a version of the WBA welterweight title, while Haney still sits near the top of the division. Catterall’s comments suggest that the game was once very much on his radar, even if it never progressed beyond the planning stage.