Jack Catterall and Regis Prograis will create history when they meet in a blockbuster Super-Lightweight clash at the top of the first ever boxing show to take place at Co-op Live in Manchester on Saturday August 24, shown live worldwide on DAZN.
Chorley’s Catterall (29-1, 13 KOs) ended a two-year wait for revenge by beating bitter rival Josh Taylor in Leeds last month, outpointing the Scotsman over 12 electric rounds in front of over 11,000 fans in one of the best British bouts of the year so far.
‘El Gato’ is keen to keep the momentum building after his career-best win in Yorkshire and the 30-year-old Jamie Moore-trained talent knows he within touching distance of another shot at world honours.
New Orleans’ Prograis (29-2, 24 KOs) surrendered his WBC Super-Lightweight World Title to Devin Haney is a huge PPV showdown at Chase Center in San Francisco last December, suffering only the second loss of his career in front of a sold-out crowd of 17,000 fans.
‘Rougarou’, a two-time World Champion at 140lbs, is looking to rebuild himself as a contender after his one-sided points defeat to ‘The Dream’, and the 35-year-old is confident that a win over Catterall will push him on towards becoming a three-time World Champion.
“I’ve waited around for big fights to happen before, sitting around waiting for title shots and it caused me a huge amount of inactivity,” said Catterall. “I’ll never do that again. I asked Eddie Hearn and Sam Jones for the best available fight for August 24 and as soon as they mentioned Regis Prograis I said yes straight away. We were meant to fight a while back and it fell through; but now we have the opportunity to settle it in the ring on August 24.
“I don’t want to sit on the sidelines and I’ll never do that again. Regis Prograis is a fantastic fighter and he’s coming off the back of a huge PPV World Title fight against Devin Haney. He’s a former two-time World Champion, he’s been over here to the UK before, had a life and death with Josh Taylor, and I’m looking forward to sharing the ring with such a great fighter.”
“This is a fight I’ve always wanted,” said Prograis. “We were supposed to fight a few years ago but it never materialized. Now is the perfect time. I view Jack as one of the best in the world at 140 lbs. It’s a great fight because Jack is eager to become a World Champion and I’m looking to become a three-time World Champion. On top of that, I’m excited to be coming back to the UK.”
“This is a brilliant fight and I’m so happy that we are seeing the best 140 lbs fighters face each other rather than just sitting around waiting for title shots,” said Matchroom Sport Chairman Eddie Hearn. “Jack Catterall is on a great run and Regis Prograis needs to make a statement in this fight, I think it will be a thriller. I’m also delighted to give this incredible new arena its first live boxing event and it’s going to be a huge show from top to bottom August 24 – live around the world on DAZN.”
“In a few short weeks since opening our doors, Co-op Live has played host to one epic concert after another,” said Tim Leiweke, CEO, Oak View Group. “But the biggest and most expensive arena in Europe was not only built for concerts, but to host the biggest boxing events in the UK. With this kind of ambition, we had to partner with legendary promoters. Matchroom and Eddie made a commitment to put together a world class card for our first boxing event, and what a first event this will be. Co-op Live is honoured to welcome home Jack Catterall to Manchester and to host Jack and Regis for our first boxing event at Co-op Live. The building will be electric, whether you are lucky enough to be there in person or watching from around the world on DAZN.”
“We wanted to keep Jack as busy as possible and it’s hard for people to understand but there aren’t any World Title shots available at this moment in time,” said Catterall’s manager Sam Jones. “Eddie wanted to do a big show at Co-op Live – the first ever boxing event to take place at Manchester’s newest venue. It’s amazing for Jack Catterall to be the first ever boxer to headline there. We’ve gone with the best opponent available and the biggest name; and that’s Regis Prograis. The fight was going to happen a couple of years ago but it never materialized for whatever reason, but we’re here now and it’s going to be an absolute barn-stormer of a fight.”
An announcement on ticket details will be made soon.
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