by Keith Idec
EDDIE Hearn mentioned Teofimo Lopez as a potential opponent for Jack Catterall after Catterall’s convincing victory over two-time 140-pound champion Regis Prograis on Saturday night in Manchester.
That’s the biggest fight for the English southpaw in the 140-pound division and Catterall is the WBO’s second-ranked contender for Lopez’s junior welterweight crown. It is more likely, though, based on promotional and network/streaming alignments, that Catterall could secure a shot at the winner of the upcoming bout between IBF junior welterweight champ Liam Paro and Richardson Hitchins in his next fight.
Australia’s Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) is set to make his first defence of that IBF belt against New York’s Hitchins (18-0, 7 KOs) on December 7 at Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“With regards to Teofimo Lopez, I’ve said we’d love to spank him,” Hearn said during Catterall’s post-fight press conference. “But he’s a very good fighter and he’s a massive star. And I doubt he would come to Manchester. But it’d be some night, wouldn’t it? Imagine bringing Teofimo Lopez to the UK – it would be brilliant. And, you know, [Catterall-Prograis] was a WBO international [title fight]. Jack is sitting at number two [in the WBO rankings].
“Hopefully, it’s gonna move him closer to that number one position. And who knows what Teofimo’s gonna do? I see him possibly moving up to 147. He’s got the legal dispute with Top Rank. Maybe Jack fights the winner of [Arnold] Barboza against [Jose] Ramirez for the vacant [WBO] title. But we do have two guys fighting for the IBF title on December the 7th, in Liam Paro and Richardson Hitchins.”
Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs), who topped Prograis (29-3, 24 KOs) by unanimous decision in their 12-rounder, is rated third among the IBF’s challengers for Paro’s championship. Hitchins, Paro’s mandatory challenger, is ranked first by the IBF, which has left its second spot vacant in the 140-pound division.
Whichever fighter leaves the ring with that IBF belt on December 7 will have leverage.
Hearn pointed out, however, that the card Catterall headlined Saturday night drew a crowd in excess of 8,000 to the brand-new Co-op Live Arena, which could accommodate more than 20,000 for boxing. Five months earlier, Catterall’s 12-round unanimous points defeat of former undisputed 140-pound champ Josh Taylor in their rematch attracted an audience of almost 11,000 to First Direct Arena in Leeds.
Hearn’s company, Matchroom Boxing, promotes Catterall, Paro and Hitchins. He believes they could offer Paro or Hitchins enough money to defend that IBF belt against Catterall in England sometime relatively early in 2025, now that the Chorley native has established himself as a decent ticket-seller.
“So, can we bring that world championship fight here?,” Hearn said. “Obviously, Liam Paro’s gonna say, ‘What about Australia?’ Which is something we’ll look at as well. If Hitchins wins, he’s gonna say, ‘What about New York?’ Which is something we’d look at as well. So, Jack’s in a great position.”
