Jack Catterall to fight Arnold Barboza Jr. in February
Jack Catterall will face Arnold Barboza Jr. in a junior welterweight clash in Manchester on Feb. 15, it was confirmed on Sunday.
Catterall (30-1,13 KOs), called for a world title fight after a unanimous decision win over Regis Prograis in October backed up his victory over rival Josh Taylor in May.
However, a shot at a belt will have to wait at least one more fight, with Barboza Jr. (30-0, 11 KOs) now confirmed as the Englishman’s next opponent.
Teofimo Lopez is the WBO champion, with Barboza Jr. ranked No.1 and Catterall No.2.
Promoter Eddie Hearn floated the prospect of fighting Lopez after the win over Prograis.
A fight against the winner of Liam Paro’s IBF title defence against Richardson Hitchins on Dec. 7 was also mooted at the time.
Hitchins won the fight via split decision to take the IBF belt.
The win over Prograis — a former two-time world champion — started off cagey before Catterall dropped his opponent to the canvas twice in Round 9 and showed he can mix it with the top fighters in the division.
After the fight, Prograis labelled Catterall his toughest opponent.
“Jack was the better man, I’m not going to lie. He deserves a world title fight,” Prograis said in the aftermath.
“To be honest, I’ve fought the best of them, so far, I think Jack is probably the best I’ve fought.”
Source: espn.com