Before his fight in February with Arnold Barboza Jnr, Jack Catterall starred in a Matchroom social media campaign addressing his “boring” image.
The video attracted lots of views on social media, but Catterall’s impressive run of defeating Jorge Linares, Josh Taylor and Regis Prograis was ended by the visiting American.
“” was a lighthearted gamble, and on Saturday at the Manchester Arena, Catterall has another high-profile assignment when he confronts Harlem Eubank.
“We had a laugh filming it and the guys from Matchroom were spot-on, so thank you to them,” Catterall said of the promo.
“I was skeptical at first. I came home and showed it to my wife and she said, ‘You know what, it could be good.’ So I agreed to it.
“People that know me know – I wouldn’t say I’m over-private, but I kind of just stick to my work and get my job done. I had a brilliant response to it. I think it went down well. A lot of good feedback. As far as enjoyment, I didn’t not enjoy filming it, but I wouldn’t say it was my favorite thing to do.”
Eubank felt the promo was self-defeating and emphasized what Jack was not, rather than what he was.
“I don’t know why they done that promo,” said his opponent on Saturday. “I have no idea because you know, the guy… he’s an upright guy. I don’t know why they’re trying to brand him as so boring, but the promo didn’t help.
“But listen, it’s not about that. It’s about going in there and winning and coming out victorious. His style, it’s not here nor there in terms of, my objective is to go in there and beat the man by any means possible. How his style looks to boxing fans or whatever is pretty irrelevant to me. The goal is to go in there and come out victorious, by any means.”
Catterall’s trainer, Jamie Moore – ironically a blood and guts southpaw warrior who was involved in several Fight of the Year contenders – has for years taken many to task over the southpaw fighting style. But Catterall is defensively sound, has the ability to hurt opponents with both hands and is tremendously skilled. What he does is hard to do.
It was Andre Ward who said it is down to journalists and commentators to educate on the subtleties of fighting, rather than encouraging war and praising warriors only.
Amid recent headlines of “Tom and Jerry” boxing, Catterall appreciates Ward’s assessment.
“I appreciate it and I rate it because I’ve been boxing for 20 years – I know I can fight,” Catterall said. “Maybe some performances, I’ve not gone out there and shown what I can actually do, what I believe I can do, what I do in the gym. But I’ve gone out there, I've executed the game plan, I’ve beat them comfortably, it might be a points decision.
“You’re always going to get the people who are not interested in that, who just want the knockouts, etc. And that’s fine, but if we can educate them more and get them to appreciate the craft and the dedication… Look, I’m 32 next week and I feel fresh. I feel healthy. I feel intact, and I see a lot of fighters that turn professional around the same time I did, like 13, 14 years deep now; they’ve been in so many wars, they’ve had to retire early. They’ve overtrained. They’ve not looked after their body.
“I believe fighters like Andre Ward, who are more about the sweet science and the IQ, can look after themselves and have a long career. And a good life after boxing.”
But that does not mean that Catterall has not, like Moore, had to fend off the negativity surrounding some of his fights – although he accepts that feedback is part of the job.
“I feel like we’re living in the social media era where everybody has a lot to say,” he said. “Maybe the boxing purists understand the sweet science and that’s appreciated by them. The casual fight fans want to see blood, guts and knockdowns, which you’re not always going to get from a more complete boxer.
“That’s just the way it is; that’s the way the land lies. There’s nothing I can do about it. I’ve got to go out there and do my job, and I think, and boxers will say no matter what, all that matters is getting the victory, because the opportunities will come after a victory, whether it was a dull performance or not.
“We’ve seen it by a lot of fighters, even recently, where maybe it’s not the most thrilling fight, but as long as they’re winning, they’re still going to keep progressing.”
