Whether you like Eddie Hearn or not, it has been pointed out, here on this site and in numerous other places, that the Matchroom boss always has his fighter’s back – that’s a win, lose, or draw. Sam Jones is Jack Catterall’s manager, but Hearn has a vested interest in the Chorley southpaw’s future.
And Hearn, in speaking with the media after Catterall’s big win over former two-time champ Regis Prograis (who Hearn also promoted, of course), says he would now love to see Catterall fight Teofimo Lopez “and give him a good a**e kicking.”
Hearn, who said that he feels Catterall is “probably the most underrated fighter in the world,” knows the 31-year-old has options—including a fight with the winner of the upcoming Liam Paro vs. Richardson Hitchins fight. But Eddie wants the Teo fight, as does Catterall himself.
“This guy is probably the most underrated fighter in the world,” Hearn said of Catterall. “In 11 months, he’s beat Jorge Linares, Josh Taylor, and now Regis Prograis. All in 11 months. This man needs a world title shot next. We have Liam Paro fighting Richardson Hitchins on December 7 in Puerto Rico. The winner of that fight – we want to put that straight forward to them to fight Jack Catterall next. For me, with this WBO belt, he should be number one in the WBO. I would love to bring Teofimo Lopez to Manchester as well and give him a good a**e kicking.”
Make no mistake, if there would be any a**e kicking taking place, it would be one of the two fighters in the ring administering it, not the promoter of the fight. And just who would win if Catterall, 29-1(13) and Lopez, 21-1(13) did fight? It’s a potentially great fight, that’s for sure.
As a fight fan, who would you most like to see Catterall fight next? And Hearn is bang-on right when he says Catterall is vastly underrated (and possibly underappreciated) and that he deserves a second world title shot. Either the Paro-Hitchins winner or Lopez……..if you could pick, who would you pick for Jack?
Catterall was unlucky not to have walked away with all four 140-pound belts back when he was deemed the points loser in his first fight with Josh Taylor. But now, it seems nothing will stop Catterall from achieving his dream of becoming a world champion. But he must get his second shot soon, as in his next fight.
