Jack Catterall & Jorge Linares both made weight on Friday, coming in at 140 lbs each for their headline attraction on DAZN this Saturday night.
Catterall (27-1, 13 KOs) is the favorite to win this headliner against the old warrior Linares (47-8, 29 KOs), but you can’t rule out an upset when they meet for their twelve-rounder at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.
Linares, 38, desperately needs a win at this stage of his 21-year professional career to remain a viable opponent for the bigger names. At this point, it’s unlikely the former three-division world champion Linares will ever win another world title, but if he defeats Catterall, he least has a chance to fight for a belt against the winner of the Regis Prograis vs. Devin Haney bout.
Catterall’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has big plans for him if he’s victorious on Saturday, wanting to match him against Josh Taylor in a rematch or potentially against the Haney-Prograis winner.
Last year, Catterall lost a competitive twelve-round split decision against the former undisputed light welterweight champion Taylor in Glasgow. Catterall had hoped to get a rematch with Taylor, but it never happened. The only reason that Taylor would entertain the idea of giving Catterall a rematch now is because of his recent loss to Teofimo Lopez.
“I think it’s going to be twelve hard rounds, and I think it’s going to be a real back & forth between two high-quality fighters, two skill-sters, that will stand and fight,” said Eddie Hearn to Matchroom Boxing on this Saturday’s main event contest between Jack Catterall & Jorge Linares in Liverpool, England.
Linares is the better puncher with the faster hands, and the superior skills, but the 30-year-old Catterall is a lot younger. Also, Catterall is the naturally bigger fighter, as this is his weight class. Linares is being pulled up from the 135-lb division to give Catterall a name opponent.
“The pressure is on for us to deliver for Jack Catterall,” Hearn continued. “The comeback fight was there against [Darragh] Foley, the perfect fight. The headliner against Jorge Linares; the perfect fight. After that, he’s not interested in anything else other than Josh Taylor or the winner of Haney against Prograis.
Catterall has an entertaining style, but his problem is he can’t punch, and he’s more of a domestic-level fighter than a true top-tier light welterweight. You can’t put Catterall in with any of the top ten-level fighters like Gary Antuanne Russell, Sandor Martin, Arnold Barboza Jr. or Richardson Hitchins and expect him to win.
“I love it [Taylor vs. Catterall rematch] because the build-up will be incredible,” said Hearn. It’s got the history and the narrative, but it’s not for a world title. Jack, it’s boring now talking about how he should be a world champion, but in his mind, that’s the goal to become a world champion.
“There’s also a lot of money in the Taylor fight. It fills up arenas in Manchester and in Glasgow as well. But one thing I keep stressing, and I’ll keep saying it to the younger prospects as well. You’ve got to win well.
“It’s so easy to become forgotten about with a stale performance or a performance that isn’t exciting. It’s difficult because I know when you’re in with a puncher or a great fighter, the man in the corner will say, ‘Hey, don’t take any chances.’ I hear it all the time.
“I’m like, ‘Come on, take chances.’ So, you got to get the mix right. I’m telling you the truth. If you excite and you have a fan base, and you have a platform, you’re going to go on, and you’re going to get the big fights a lot easier than if you don’t.
“So, if Jack Catterall goes in there on Saturday night and wins a twelve round decision in a boring fight, which I don’t think it will be because of their styles, it’s a lot harder for me to start calling out and filling out Manchester Arena and Glasgow with Taylor or pay-per-view against Haney or Prograis and that kind of stuff,” said Hearn about the need for Catterall to shine on Saturday night.
