Regis Prograis has modified his tune about Jack Catterall after saying he was one of the best he had ever fought after dropping to him by a 12-round unanimous resolution final Saturday evening in Manchester, England. Prograis (29-3, 24 KOs) now says he made that comment as a result of he was within the UK and needed to be gracious after getting crushed by the house fighter, Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs) on the Co-op Stay Enviornment.
In an interview right this moment, the previous WBA and WBC gentle welterweight champion Prograis stated that Catterall is NOT one of the best fighter he’s fought, however he’s “Higher than he thought” he was after having watched him on video earlier than going through him. Prograis states that Catterall is “awkward” and exhausting to hit.
Regis says it was a straightforward struggle for him till his coach instructed him to begin combating aggressively after the sixth spherical as a result of he was involved that they wouldn’t have the ability to win a choice in opposition to the British fighter Catterall as a result of they had been within the UK. When Prograis started strolling to Catterall, he bought harm within the ninth spherical and dropped twice.
In hindsight, Prograis needs he had continued to field Catterall as he’d been doing, however on condition that he was within the UK, he felt he had no alternative however to struggle aggressively to make sure he bought the win.
Prograis Dominated Early On
“Early on, I boxed him and it was simple with my jab. I used to be boxing him throughout the ring. The primary six rounds, it was simple,” stated Regis Prograis to Struggle Hub TV, discussing what went unsuitable in his loss to Jack Catterall final Saturday evening.
“Then my coach instructed me, ‘You should step it up. Be a bit extra busy.’ That’s after I bought caught. As soon as that occurred, the struggle sort of shifted. My coach instructed me, ‘We expect you’re up, however we’re over right here within the UK, and I believe you might need to do one thing else,’” stated Prograis.
It might have been fascinating to see if Prograis would have gotten the choice if he’d chosen to field Catterall your entire struggle as an alternative of getting reckless and happening the assault. We’ll by no means know for certain, however Prograis was positively dominating the struggle going into spherical 9. He’d dropped Catterall with a proper hand in spherical 5 and regarded in a powerful place to win heading into the ninth.
“That’s after I began stepping it up and strolling to him, and that’s when he caught me,” stated Prograis. “I used to be nonetheless was good; I wasn’t harm, however then I harm my ankle actual dangerous. I twisted my ankle and my knee. My coach instructed me, ‘It’s important to knock him out,’ however that was taking part in into his palms. That’s what he needed me to do.”
Prograis: Catterall NOT The “Finest I Confronted”
When Prograis went on that assault within the second half, Catterall took benefit of that in the identical method he did in his two fights in opposition to Josh Taylor. Catterall is sweet at fighters who assault however who don’t goal his physique. A great Mexican fighter who can reduce off the ring and hit Catterall to the physique would convey him to earth.
When you stroll towards Catterall, focusing on his head, he does properly in opposition to that sort. Nonetheless, with an excellent chin that throws a whole lot of punches and may chase Catterall down, they’ll beat him as a result of he has no actual offense.
“They didn’t anticipate me to field him. He’s not one of the best I confronted. Let’s put it this manner,” stated Prograis. “He’s higher than I believed. You bought to the UK, and you’ve got a UK fighter; it’s important to rattling close to knock him out. You possibly can’t win a choice. My coach instructed me, ‘You bought to be busier.’ I believed I might knock him out. The one-two, he was actually good at slipping that. I couldn’t get to him.”
Catterall didn’t look that spectacular in any respect within the struggle, however Prograis was too restricted when it comes to his chin, mixture punching, stamina and talent to chop off the ring to reap the benefits of his flawed recreation. There are a whole lot of fighters at 140, 135, and 147 that might feast on a restricted man like Catterall. Promoter Eddie Hearn has performed a wonderful job of defending Catterall from these fighters to maintain him from dropping.
Haney Possesses Extra Instruments
“He’s a greater fighter than I believed he was as a result of he’s very awkward,” stated Prograis. “Nah, I believe Devin has extra instruments,” stated Prograis when requested if Catterall is healthier than Haney. “I might say I used to be a greater fighter on Saturday evening than I used to be with Devin. The Devin struggle, it wasn’t me.
“For this struggle, I used to be extra targeted and extra current. I can’t say who was higher. They’ve two completely different kinds. I can say Devin has extra instruments. Jack doesn’t have an excellent jab. He doesn’t have an excellent proper hand,” stated Prograis.
Haney regarded higher in opposition to Prograis than Catterall did. There’s no comparability between the 2. Haney dominated Prograis your entire struggle, dropping him and profitable a large 12-round unanimous resolution final 12 months on December ninth in San Franciso, California. The scores had been 120-107, 120-107, and 120-107.
