On August 24, Jack Catterall clashes with Regis Prograis at Co-op Live in Manchester, and live on DAZN.
And Catterall couldn't have been in this position without finally putting the Josh Taylor saga to rest — something he accomplished in May by defeating the Scottish fighter via unanimous decision in their rematch.
That victory avenged a haunting February 2022 split-decision loss to Taylor in a fight that many critics and fans thought that Catterall won. All being said, Catterall is relieved to put this in his rear-view mirror.
"There was probably a couple of years of frustration after the first fight, probably before the first fight," Catterall admitted during a recent sitdown with Matchroom Boxing.
"It was something that needed to be done. I was fortunate enough that I got it done a couple of weeks ago in Leeds and for me now that chapter is done.
"It's 2-0, it's finished and we could move on and we got Regis Prograis August 24 and that's what my focus is on."
Catterall and Prograis were in negotiations to fight a few years back though those talks fizzled out.
"Through whatever reason, I think it was promotionally," Catterall said, "the fight couldn't happen."
A few years later, it's happening at an opportune time for both as the winner should set himself up for a world title shot in the near future.
"I think this is a brilliant fight to put me in that position to go on and fight for the world title," offered the 30-year-old Catterall (29-1, 13 KOs).
"I got a tough fight August 24, a two-time world champion who's hungry to become three-time. I've yet to have my hands on a world title.
"It's something that I dreamed of for many years."
At 35, Prograis (29-2, 24 KOs) is coming off back-to-back average performances via a unanimous decision loss to Devin Haney in December and a split-decision win over Danielito Zorrilla last June, though Catterall is expecting the best from "Rougarou" next month.
Live on DAZN: Jaron Ennis vs. David Avanesyan on July 13. Click here for details .