Jack Catterall is hoping to secure a crack at WBC light-welterweight champion Regis Prograis this October.
Prograis will make his first appearance since signing for Matchroom and the first defense of his title when he faces Danielito Zorrilla at the Smoothie King Center, New Orleans on Saturday night.
The 34-year-old ‘Rougarou’ is an overwhelming favorite to win that fight and Catterall wants the next opportunity to dethrone Prograis, according to his coach Jamie Moore.
Catterall, 29, also recently signed with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom and returned from a spell of just one fight in 30 months in May when he beat Darragh Foley on points in Manchester.
And Moore believes it would be the logical next fight for both men should Prograis come through Saturday night unscathed.
He told BoxingScene.com: “Prograis fights this weekend so if he comes through that I don’t believe it’s a difficult fight to make next – in October some time. Everyone is on the same page in terms of promotion and on similar timelines.
“Jack has just had a good win, at last, he’s back in the ring. Now he’s with Eddie I think he can get some momentum going.
“Now he’s in a position where he can get busy again. It’s not good for anyone, in that stage of his career, at 29, his peak years, to have one fight in 30 months. We can’t do anything about that now, all we can do is try to get some momentum going.
“Hopefully we can negotiate that Prograis fight but if it’s not him Eddie has told us he will keep Jack busy. So if it’s not going to be Prograis in October, we will box in September and then maybe go in December. Regardless, he’s going to be active.”
Catterall’s last defeat came in February 2022 when he was outpointed by then-undisputed 140lb champion Josh Taylor in a fight that many observers thought he won.
And Moore insists his man is now deserving of back-to-back title shots – starting with Prograis before an attempt on the WBA belt too.
He added: “The division is stacked already and there are so many options coming up from lightweight too. I want him to be world champion, he deserves it. He’s good enough and he should have been one already. But I also want him to be involved in the type of fights he deserves to be in.
“In an ideal world the next fight is Prograis at the end of September, October. I believe he beats him, it won’t be easy, but I think he beats him. Then he could go on and win the WBA, whoever has got that – Rolly Romero or Ohara Davies.”