Jack Catterall says he is open to a title shot at both 140 and 147 lbs. The 31-year-old from Chorley, England, recently moved up to the welterweight division to take on Harlem Eubank, walking away the winner on a technical decision after a nasty gash caused a premature end to the contest. The win has not done much for Catterall in terms of propelling him towards a world title, but there are still opportunities on the horizon.
His fellow welterweights and promotional stablemates Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan will fight for the second time on September 13, this time for the IBF 147lb title. With both men signed with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, Catterall versus the winner should be a straightforward fight to make. Catterall has come under criticism for his style over the years and even more recently against Eubank, with his manager Sam Jones saying that they need a “come-forward style” to get the best out of Catterall. Crocker certainly fits the bill, but a fight against Donovan, a fellow southpaw, could fail to deliver a barnburner wanted by Jones.
“I'm getting on to Sam [Jones, my manager] to make the best fights, the biggest fights and somebody who wants to come and fight,” Catterall told BoxingScene. “Yeah I think, Crocker would come… probably meet in the middle of the ring which would work better for my style, but I've boxed Josh [Taylor], who's a southpaw, and I've had two great fights with him, so I think I like fighting southpaws.”
Catterall took to social media last week to push for a contest against Rolando “Rolly” Romero, who was recently promoted to full champion by the WBA after Jaron “Boots” Ennis’ departure from the division.
“Yeah, I love the fight. Rolly Romero's an interesting character, can obviously fight, and just had a great victory against Ryan Garcia,” Catterall said. “These are fights that I've spoken to Sam about, and no questions asked, sign me up for any of these fights.”
Despite moving on from the junior welterweight division after defeat to Arnold Barboza Jnr, Catterall is still open to a title shot at 140lbs.
“I can make 140. It's become more difficult over the years, but I'm fortunate to work with great people and a great nutritionist and doctor in Karl Evans,” he said. “So, I know I can work at 140 still, and I'm kind of now in that position where if an opportunity comes that we like at 140 we'd go for that. If it's at 14, that'll be an option too.
“There's Dalton Smith fighting at the back end of the year; he's got a fight against [Subriel] Matias. Listen, we love all these fights. These are the fights that we've been wanting and that will happen.”
Catterall has recently been linked with a fight under the Riyadh Season/The Ring promotional banner in Saudi Arabia. The Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, and Riyadh Season frontman Turki Alalshikh has been critical of defensive fighters in recent months, referring to their contests as “Tom and Jerry”, and even commented on Catterall’s last fight against Eubank, referring to it as “Jerry vs. Jerry”.
“You get the right opponent, somebody who wants to come and fight and I'll show you what I can do. It won't be Tom and Jerry or Jerry versus Jerry,” Catterall said of the comments.
The comments Alalshikh recently made led to one of the sport’s finest defensive masters, Shakur Stevenson, changing his style when fighting on an Alalshikh-backed card. In his victory over William Zepeda, Stevenson admitted to Ariel Helwani that he stood and traded with Zepeda more than usual because “Tom and Jerry” was on his mind. Catterall, also a master of the defensive arts, was asked for his opinion on Stevenson’s comments.
“It's difficult because, as fighters, you are getting paid off these people, the promoters, the matchmakers, so it's a difficult one. Shakur is never going to change his style overnight,” replied Catterall. “When push comes to shove, I think he'd revert, but you've got to also understand that people are paying to come and watch your fights, you've got to entertain. So, of course, I've heard it, I've seen it online: ‘You've got to change things.’ You’re never going to change drastically but you've got to maybe take more chances and force things a little bit more.”
And would Catterall feel pressured to stand and trade more should he get the call to fight on an Alalshikh-backed card?
“Of course. You’re under pressure to perform and do the right things to please people,” he replied.
