MANCHESTER — Jack Catterall beat Regis Prograis via unanimous decision in Manchester on Saturday, coming through a tense fight to put himself in the frame for a junior welterweight world title fight.
All three judges ruled in favour of Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs), who twice had Prograis (29-3, 24 KOs) on the floor, with scores of 117-108, 116-109, 116,109
Both fighters were nervous in the opening rounds, although Prograis advanced more, often chasing his opponent around the ring.
There was a spark of life at the end of Round 3 when Catterall landed a good left hand, but he couldn’t pick up any momentum from it.
Things finally started to heat up in Round 5. Shouts of “Chorley” for Catterall’s home town rang around the arena after he landed another left, but Prograis scored a knockdown after Catterall was deemed to have dropped, albeit for a split second, after being caught by the American.
It will be remembered as a largely scrappy affair. Prograis was judged to have slipped in Round 8, with the Manchester crowd’s jolt of excitement short lived, and both fighters went crashing under the ropes at one stage after wrestling themselves to the canvas.
Things then swung in Round 9 when Catterall scored two knockdowns, first with a left to the head, then a right to finish the round. Despite the crunching blows, Prograis got to his feet almost immediately, but the points were priceless for Catterall, as was the crowd’s support.
Catterall seemed to have found a second wind as he built combinations and started to suffocate Prograis, whose legs seemed to wobble more as the fight drew to a close.
Prograis was gracious in defeat, giving props to Catterall in the ring and calling for him to get a title fight.
On the undercard, Jimmy Joe Flint (15-2-2, 3 KOs) beat Campbell Hatton (14-2, 5 KOs) by unanimous decision in an entertaining clash. Hatton, son of former two-weight world champion and Manchester local Ricky Hatton, was desperate to avenge his loss against Flint in March but fell short in front of a home crowd.
Reece Bellotti’s British and Commonwealth super featherweight fight with Michael Gomes Jr. was cancelled after Gomez Jr. fell ill prior to the bout on Saturday.