Britain’s Jack Catterall took a step closer to becoming a world champion after defeating former two-time world champion Regis Prograis at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester. Now, he is aiming for the biggest names in the division, including Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez, and Liam Paro. The strange and messy 12-round super lightweight battle didn’t fail to entertain. 

The fight recorded three knockdowns—Prograis scored the first in the fifth round, while the other two went to Catterall in the 9th. In the end, ‘El Gato’ emerged victorious with scores of 116-109, 116-109, and 117-108 on the judges’ scorecards. While Catterall scored his 4th consecutive win since his sole loss in February 2022 to Josh Taylor, Prograis’ career seemed to have taken a blow as he suffered his second consecutive loss since losing to Haney last year. 

Regardless, fueled by dreams of becoming a world champion, the 31-year-old Brit took to X to call out his preferred opponents. In one of his tweets, he called out IBF super lightweight champion Liam Paro, writing, “See you soon @ParoLiam.”

The 28-year-old Australian southpaw is coming off an upset victory over Subriel Matias earlier this year and is expected to defend his title against Richardson Hitchins in December. 

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Catterall next turned to former WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney, who was taking a dig at Prograis following the fight. Haney wrote, “& I beat him worse than Catterall.. Regis just bitter.” Responding to this tweet, the Brit wrote, “Big respect champ ready when you are.” Haney is coming off his controversial fight against rival Ryan Garcia, which saw its original majority decision win for Garcia turned into a no-contest after Garcia tested positive for ostarine. 

Anyway, Catterall also issued a callout aimed at Teofimo Lopez, writing, “Hello @TeofimoLopez.” ‘The Takeover’ hasn’t fought since his bout against Steve Claggett earlier this year. He is also in a dispute with his promoter Top Rank with no sign of who or when he may fight next. In the meantime, Catterall’s promoter has also shared his take on Catterall’s next opponent. 

Eddie Hearn has the same idea as Jack Catterall

After the fight concluded, Matchroom honcho Eddie Hearn took the stage to praise his fighter. “For me, Jack Catterall is the most underrated fighter in the world. What an 11 months he has had. He has won in Liverpool then beat Josh Taylor in Leeds and now won in Manchester,” Hearn said. Hearn also thanked fans from Catterall’s town Chorley, who came out in numbers to support the 31-year-old, noting, “How good is it to have such a good, humble man representing Chorley?” Regardless, turning to Catterall’s next steps in the sport, Hearn expressed the British star’s desire for a title fight, as he dropped potential names. 

“I’d love to get Teofimo Lopez here to the Co-op Live – what a fight that would be,” Hearn said. “We have Liam Paro fighting Richardson Hitchins, December 7 in Puerto Rico. The winner of that fight – we want to put that [offer] straight forward to them to fight Jack Catterall next.”

With a lopsided victory over Regis Prograis, Jack Catterall has launched himself on the brink of a world championship title fight next year. However, whether he ends up getting such a bout is yet to be seen. Who do you think Catterall should fight?