Jack Catterall Trades Knockdowns w/ Regis Prograis, Devin Haney Return Rumors, Kosei Tanaka Scoring Controversy!

Regis Prograis suffered the 3rd loss of his career this past Saturday evening against Jack Catterall in a heated 12-round battle. The fight was intended as a world title eliminator, with the winner being touted as a challenger for the WBO Super-Lightweight World Championship, according to Eddie Hearn.

Hearn spoke highly of both men, sparing no mention of the achievements of both teams. Prograis needed a big win after a quiet debut at Matchroom and a loss to Devin Haney, while Catterall sought a knockout victory to catapult himself to a world title fight. The headline for the event was “Stand On Business”, and the fight at the top of the bill was a true display of the statement. The buildup to the fight was impressive, with Prograis taking most of the high points.

A viral clip from the final press conference centered around Prograis exposing Catterall’s manager Sam Jones. Prograis claimed Sam Jones reached out to him several years ago and said that he would "flatten" Catterall. "Right hand to God, I never said that. You've been hit in the head too many times from hitting Devin Haney, my friend," Jones quipped. Prograis smiled and proceeded to play a voice note from his phone. "Watch this everybody, be quiet," Prograis said with a calm demeanor.

In a recording played for the press conference audience, Sam Jones very clearly says that he thinks he would flatten Catterall, and beat Josh Taylor. The crowd erupted with snide remarks towards Jones, all while he stammered on the microphone in response. "I've got messages of you that'll be posted later," Jones shouted. Eddie Hearn, seated to the left of Prograis, was very visibly seen laughing and trying to calm the crowd down so Prograis could continue playing the audio.

Regardless of all of Prograis' press conference victories, the victory most important to his career was the one that evaded him. Prograis dropped Catterall once in the fifth round with a jab that landed flush on his chin. The right-hand jab from Prograis was a key feature of his offense, earning him several points throughout the fight. However, his defense was ultimately what cost him the victory.

While his hands were low, Catterall blasted Prograis with a 1-2 combination, the straight left hand scoring the first knockdown against his opponent. The veteran experience and solid chin of Prograis enabled him to stand and continue the fight, but again his defense was fleeting.

Prograis's wild swings and lack of a guard led to Catterall easily calculating the shot to finish him. As Prograis backed himself into the corner and began to line up his rear-hand shot, Catterall stepped in and blasted him with a left hook.

Prograis was down again, but he calmly stood up to raise his gloves to the referee after clinching Catterall. Prograis fought his way through the championship rounds of the match, evading Catterall's punches with impressive head movement.

He continued to swing wildly and fell over onto the canvas after throwing a massive left hook that missed Catterall. When the bell for the end of the 12th round sounded, Catterall received cheers from his hometown arena. The scores read 109-116, 109-116, and 108-117 in favor of Catterall. Prograis eagerly jumped on the mic after clapping and congratulating his opponent. "Jack was just better, that's all. Jack was the better man, I'm not gonna lie," Prograis said while wiping sweat from his brow. "He definitely deserves a world title next. I've been in the ring with world-class fighters, but you're really good. I've fought the best and you were the best of them." Catterall accepted the praise from Prograis and made his case for a world opportunity next. Prograis claimed to be considering retirement directly after the fight ended, but today in a post on social media he confirmed he will be returning to the ring.

Prograis' performance did not indicate that he has taken too much damage, or is a "shot" fighter by any means. All of his physical gifts are still on display, what Prograis has suffered from is a case of styles not matching up well. Against Zorilla, Haney, and now Catterall, Prograis has been at the disadvantage style-wise. Zorilla and Haney were slick outboxers with the footwork to evade Prograis' hooks. Catterall was too elusive for Prograis to get in front of, outside of his jab.

If Prograis were to fight an individual such as Pedro Campa or Steve Claggett, both fighters who prefer to stand in the pocket and trade, he would certainly perform better. However, without a belt to his name, Prograis does not have the leverage to pick his opponents like Haney, Teofimo Lopez, Canelo, and other a-side cash cows.

After this loss, Prograis can either move up as an undersized welterweight or remain at super-lightweight for another world title eliminator following a tune-up or two. Catterall, now with Josh Taylor and Regis Prograis on his resume, will apply pressure on Eddie Hearn to redline a world championship fight for him. Hearn will likely reach out to Teofimo Lopez and Top Rank ahead of rumors that Devin Haney will be trying to make a fight against Lopez as well.

[Devin Haney Rumored to Return at 140 lbs!]

The international boxing community is on fire as news of Devin Haney's potential return hit the headlines. On Andre Ward's “All The Smoke” podcast, Haney addressed the rumors of his in-ring return. Haney has been plenty involved in the media, making appearances at the two most recent Riyadh Season cards.

Haney was sitting next to Turki Al-Al-Sheikh and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo at the Bivol vs. Beterbiev cards, showing teeth and palms for the upper echelon of the sports world. On Ward's show, Haney claimed that Al-Al-Sheikh reached out to him and his father, Bill Haney, for a potential 140-lb world championship unification against Teofimo Lopez. “I was supposed to get back in the ring in October in Saudi Arabia, and the next fight was going to be Teo. Turki offered him a fight. He said he’s not ready,” said Haney to Ward during his episode on the show.

The claim that Teofimo Lopez turned down the offer sent his fans and supporters into a frenzy, most notably boxing podcast platform “Punsh Drunk Boxing.” PDB went on ThaBoxingVoice to directly confront Bill Haney about his son's claims, which led to an explosive conversation. Bill Haney argued that Lopez had the offer on the table and had no reason to deny it since he was complaining to boxing media this month that he hadn't yet made a million dollars in the ring. PDB made attempts to pick apart both statements from the Haneys, most importantly Bill's talk of there being an “offer on the table”, not an official contract sent from team to team.

PDB's attempts to slam the Haney team for lying about Lopez's denial and the fact that there was no real contract ultimately failed. When asked what contracts or offers were on the table, Haney said, “There is an offer to fight Teofimo Lopez."

"Top Rank will pay their end of the fight, and Devin Haney will be paid from the Matchroom-Turki Al-Al-Sheikh side,” Haney continued by providing more information on Turki's activity in the deal. “We don't know what Teofimo Lopez is supposed to be paid,” Haney began, “because Turki Al-Al-Sheikh is negotiating with Top Rank.” With this official confirmation from Bill Haney, there is no doubt that Turki Al-Al-Sheikh is leading a major effort to get Haney and Lopez in the ring together.

Whether or not it will happen has yet to be seen. Despite the unfortunate circumstances regarding his fight with Ryan Garcia, there is still buzz around Devin Haney's name. A fight between another of the "Four Kings" would give him another boost in popularity worldwide. However, Top Rank's rocky situation with Lopez may have impacted any potential negotiations thus far.

Lopez has openly spoken about his dissatisfaction with the contract he is currently seeing out under Top Rank. Top Rank was able to grant him the undisputed title shot that gave him status as a rising star in the sport, as well as another world title opportunity at super-lightweight against WBO-Lineal World Champion Josh Taylor.

All of these were in-house, which has prevented Lopez from unifying against fellow world champions multiple times. If Riyadh Season's large budget is enough to entice Top Rank, Haney and Lopez may be in the ring sooner than the fans think.

Haney still holds significant stock in the super-lightweight division. Lopez has been out of the ring since a single title defense against Steve Claggett back in the summer. Both men have been training, waiting for news from their teams.

There is no better time to make the fight happen, but a,s usual the determining factor is whether or not boxing politics will stall or cut the fight completely. Working across party lines in boxing is always extremely difficult because of investors and how much money goes to each promotion's power players.

If what Bill Haney says is true, Turki's monetary policy of keeping each promotion's money with their fighter would alleviate many issues. Top Rank has yet to release a statement about the situation, and Teofimo Lopez has not addressed the allegations from Devin or Bill Haney. If this fight does get announced, DQ w/ Damani will be one of the first to report.

[Kosei Tanaka Loses First Title Defence in Controversial Decision!]

Kosei Tanaka was on the other end of another highly controversial from the other side of the world. Tanaka was part of a big triple-header card in Japan, participating in the first defense of the WBO super flyweight championship he'd won just 8 months ago.

Tanaka took on tricky South African title challenger Phumelele Cafu at Ariake Arena. Cafu's lively left hook proved to be very difficult to track for Tanaka. The fifth-ranked boxer's counter right hand caught the champion's face and sent him to the canvas midway through the fifth round, which shocked many of the hometown Japanese fans in attendance.

The knockdown was quick and Tanaka was back to his feet to answer the ref's count, but it was clear he had to change his game plan. The fight changed significantly after this. Tanaka came out of the corner for the fifth and sixth rounds with a new energy around his game, easily landing body shots.

Cafu physically responded to the punches downstairs, visibly wincing each time the defending champion threw a crushing shot to the liver. Tanaka had several strong rounds, and going into the 12th and final round, had Cafu along the ropes tiring out.

Cafu was getting blasted by continuous straight rights and right hooks from Tanaka, but he did not fall. The crowd chanted Tanaka's name as he closed the fight with power, but this shockingly was not enough to win the judges over. The scores read 113-114, 114-113, and 113-114 in favor of Cafu in a split decision. Tanaka and Cafu embraced after the match in a wonderful display of sportsmanship.

Tanaka was visibly upset with the scorecards, twisting his face in anger. Despite the obvious anger and discontent with the scoring job from the judges, Tanaka remained classy and congratulated his opponent. Cafu, and undefeated fighter, thanked God for his victory and successes in training camp. "And most importantly, thanks to the man above, God. This is everything I've ever wanted. Thanks to Tanaka for giving me this opportunity," said Cafu, who improved to 11-0 with three draws and eight knockouts. "It was a really tough fight, probably the toughest I've had in my career." While Tanaka did perform well and did enough to earn a draw or victory, it is undeniable that Cafu has the potential to do big things in the super-flyweight division.

Unifications against WBC World Champion Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez, and WBA-IBF World Champion Fernando Daniel Martinez await him in the future. For Tanaka, he can seek a stay-busy fight to remain present in the eyes of the public. He is ranked 10th internationally, so it won't be difficult to get him back into the title picture. The super-flyweight division is filling up fast, with all five belts currently occupied. Tanaka has the chance to bounce back quickly if his management matches him up well.