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Jack Catterall’s promoter Eddie Hearn hopes his WBO light welterweight title eliminator against Arnold Barboza Jr. will be for the full belt when they meet on February 15 at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England.
Will Teófimo get out of work?
Matchroom promoter Hearn is counting on WBO 140-pound champion Teofimo Lopez to vacate his title to move up to 147 and pursue bigger fights, possibly against IBF welterweight champion Jaron’ Boots ‘ Ennis.
Whether that happens or not, it still doesn’t work in Hearn’s favor because Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs) may not get past the more talented Barboza Jr. (31-0, 11 KOs) on February 15.
The only thing working in Catterall’s favor for this fight is that it is in his danger zone in England, meaning he could win a non-qualifying decision. If the rounds are close, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they give them to Catterall.
Barboza Jr. will ruin Hearn’s vision
Barboza Jr. is the much better talent of the two and hopes to win this fight based on the advantage of his offensive ability. Catterall is like a British version of Shakur Stevenson, an imperfect imitation of reality. Jack has the exact same moves as Shakur but without the speed, reflexes and ring IQ.
“It’s a final eliminator for the WBO world title and hopefully it could even be for the world title if Teófimo López gets out of the way. Jack should already be undisputed world champion”Hearn said. “And there is no better way than to show that he earned his place at the top by beating Arnold Barboza Jr in what is a fantastic fight in the 140-pound division.”
Hearn’s comment about how Catterall should already be the undisputed world champion stems from his controversial loss to Josh Taylor on February 26, 2022. Hearn is still complaining about that loss, but it wasn’t controversial. Taylor hit the hardest shots all night and was the one attacking.
If Catterall wanted to win, he should have stayed in the pocket instead of using his three-foot-back Shakur style every time Taylor advanced. It was very boring to watch and it was obvious that Catterall was trying to score a cheap victory. The judges had no.
Catterall was unwatchable in his recent fight against Regis Prograis on October 26 in Manchester. The old warrior, Prograis, floored Catterall in the fifth and kept him on the run throughout the 12-round contest.
The judges gave Catterall a 12-round unanimous decision, but it was like watching one of Shakur’s fights. Very boring. If the contest had been held in the US, fans would have booed Catterall out of the arena that night. You have to be able to entertain in this era.
Wrestlers like Shakur and Catterall are relics of the past and don’t belong. Hearn will have his work cut out for him trying to promote the Catterall-Barboza Jr. event on February 15.
