Regis Prograis has changed his tune about Jack Catterall after previously saying he was the best he had ever fought after losing a 12-round unanimous decision last Saturday night in Manchester, England. Prograis (29-3, 24 KOs) now says he made that comment because he was in the UK and wanted mercy after being beaten by home fighter Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs) at the Co-op Live Arena .
Former WBA and WBC light welterweight champion Prograis said in an interview today that Catterall is NOT the best fighter he has fought, but he is “Better than he thought” he was after watching him on video before facing him. Prograis says that Catterall is “awkward” and hard to hit.
Regis says it was an easy fight for him until his trainer told him to start fighting aggressively after the sixth round because he was worried they wouldn’t be able to win a decision against British fighter Catterall because they were in the UK . As Prograis began to pace Catterall, that’s when he was hurt in the ninth round and dropped twice.
In hindsight, Prograis wishes he had continued to box Catterall as he did, but as he was in the UK he felt he had no choice but to fight aggressively to ensure he got the win.
Prograis dominated early
“I boxed him early and it was easy with my jab. I boxed him all around the ring. The first six rounds it was easy,” said Regis Prograis Fight Hub TVand discusses what went wrong in his loss to Jack Catterall last Saturday night.
“Then my coach told me: ‘You have to step it up. Be a little more busy.’ That’s when I was caught. Once that happened, the fight kind of shifted. My coach said to me, ‘We think you’re up, but we’re here in the UK, and I think you might have to do something else,'” Prograis said.
It would have been interesting to see if Prograis would have gotten the decision if he had chosen to box Catterall the entire fight instead of getting reckless and going on the attack. We’ll never know for sure, but Prograis was definitely dominating the fight by round nine. He dropped Catterall with a right hand in round five and looked in a strong position to win heading into the ninth.
“That’s when I started walking up it and walking towards him, and that’s when he caught me,” Prograis said. “I was still good, I wasn’t hurt, but then I hurt my ankle really bad. I twisted my ankle and my knee. My coach told me, ‘You have to knock him out,’ but it played into his hands. That’s what he wanted me to do.”
Prograis: Catterall NOT the “Best I’ve Met”
When Prograis went on that attack in the second half, Catterall capitalized on it the same way he did in his two fights against Josh Taylor. Catterall is good at fighters who attack but don’t target his body. A good Mexican fighter who can cut off the ring and hit Catterall to the body would bring him down.
If you walk up to Catterall and target his head, he does well against that type. With a good chin that throws a lot of punches and can run Catterall down, they’ll beat him though because he has no real offense.
“They didn’t expect me to box him. He is not the best I have come across. Let’s put it this way,” Prograis said. “He is better than I thought. You came to the UK, and you have a British fighter; you must damn near knock him out. You cannot win a decision. My coach told me, ‘You need to be busier.’ I thought I could knock him out. The one-two, he was very good at it. I couldn’t get through to him.
Haney owns more tools
“He’s a better fighter than I thought he was because he’s very uncomfortable. No, I think Devin has more tools,” Prograis said when asked if Catterall is better than Haney. “I would say I was a better fighter on Saturday night than I was with Devin. The Devin fight, it wasn’t me.
“For this fight I was more focused and more present. I can’t say who was better. They have two different styles. I can tell Devin has more tools. Jack doesn’t have a good stitch. He doesn’t have a good right hand,” Prograis said.
Haney looked better against Prograis than Catterall. There is no comparison between the two. Haney dominated Prograis throughout the fight, dropping him and winning a wide 12-round unanimous decision last December 9 in San Franciso, California. The scores were 120-107, 120-107 and 120-107.
