Jack Catterall takes on former three weight world champion Jorge Linares this Saturday in Liverpool. The world title challenger makes his second appearance for new promoter Matchroom as the main-event in Merseyside.
He makes his second appearance in just five months following 14 months out of the ring after a dubious split decision loss to Josh Taylor for the undisputed super lightweight championship in Glasgow. What could have been Catterall’s crowning moment turned into the fighter's most frustrating period.
Nonetheless the 30 year old southpaw appears to finally have the momentum his career had desperately needed. Ranked within the top seven of all four governing bodies and with another ranking bout this weekend, Catterall’s world title ambitions are on the horizon once again.
“Jack is great form once again because he is active.” Catterall’s trainer Jamie Moore said in an exclusive interview for ProBox TV. “We always had a problem with activity, one fight every 13 months was never ideal but he’s had that fight now and he has gone straight into another training camp. It is perfect for him, you can see him improving in the gym. That’s all you ever want to see in a fighter. I think he is probably coming into his peak right now, over the next year or two you are going to see the best of him. Hopefully we can make a fight with the winner of [Devin] Haney Vs [Regis] Prograis, I truly believes Jack wins against either of them.”
Catterall (27-1, 13 KOs) got to work with new promoter Eddie Hearn this past May on the undercard of Mauricio Lara Vs Leigh Wood in Manchester. The Chorley man defeated Darragh Foley over ten rounds, sticking his Irish rival on the canvas twice on way to a unanimous decision victory.
“I’m delighted for Jack at the moment.” Moore continued. “Firstly because he is active and earning some money, and secondly that he is in a position where he has got some direction in his career. There was a period where he was a little bit lost. But now Eddie has a bit of a plan mapped out for him. The main thing is that he is a fighter, and the main part of that is actually fighting.”
Catterall comes up against a much more revered opponent this time round in Linares (47-8, 29 KOs), a former three weight title holder having shared the ring with some of the very best in a career spanning over two decades. However, Linares collides with Catterall at 38 years old coming off three straight defeats beginning with Devin Haney and ending with a defeat to the little known Zhora Hamazaryan in Ekaterinburg last December. The Venezuelan has struggled to rebuild himself as a serious title contender since a first round knockout defeat to Pablo Cesar Cano in 2019.
