By Ian S Palmer
Jack Catterall returns to the ring this Saturday, May 27th in a 10-round junior welterweight clash against fellow English southpaw Darrgah Foley. The fight from Manchester, England can be seen live in most nations on DAZN on the undercard of the Mauricio Lara vs Leigh Wood rematch. Catterall hasn’t fought since February of last year as he lost a controversial split decision to Josh Taylor in a shot at the undisputed junior-welterweight title after dropping the champion in the eighth round and each fighter later having a point deducted, Catterall for holding in the 10th round and Taylor for hitting after the bell in the 11th. Foley, who fights out of Australia, last fought in March when he stopped Robbie Davies in the third round after Davies suffered a serious ankle injury.
The 29-year-old Catterall hails from Chorley in Lancashire and boasts a fine record of 26-1 with 13 Ko’s. He possesses average power with a current knockout ratio of 48.2 per cent and has boxed 160 rounds since making his pro debut in 2012. Before that he enjoyed a pretty good amateur career in which he reportedly went 48-18 and captured a CYP title and reached the final of the Junior ABA’s.
Since turning pro he’s won a few regional and minor titles such as the BBBoC Central Area, WBO European, WBO Inter-Continental, and BBBoC British Super Lightweight Crowns. Catterall stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 69-inch reach. He stepped up in class last year against Taylor as his biggest wins up to then were against the likes of Nathan Brough, Thomas Stalker, Jarkko Putkonen, Jesus Rodriguez, Joe Hughes, Tyrone Nurse, Tyrone McKenna, Ohara Davies and Timo Schwarzkopf.
The 34-year-old Foley is of Irish descent and hails from Kent but lives in Bondi, Australia. He climbs through the ropes with a mark of 22-4-1 with 10 Ko’s and has boxed 170 rounds since making his pro debut in 2013. As an amateur he fought in the 2008 Irish Under-21 Championships. He measures 5-feet-10-inches tall with an unlisted reach, which gives him a three-inch height advantage on Catterall.
Foley isn’t known for his power either as his current knockout ratio stands at 37.1 per cent. He’s got a solid chin though as he hasn’t been stopped in his four defeats. Those losses came at the hands of Joebert Delos Reyes by 10-round split decision in 2015; by 10-round unanimous decision to Brandon Ogilvie in 2016; by 10-round unanimous decision to Akeem Ennis Brown in 2018 in a shot at the vacant IBF European Super Lightweight Title and to Tyrone McKenna in a shot at the vacant WBC International Super Lightweight belt in 2019.
The lone draw on Foley’s record was a a three-round technical affair with Chris Jenkins in 2018 following an accidental head butt which left Jenkins unable to continue. As a pro Foley has captured several minor titles including the the Australian Lightweight, Oriental and Pacific Super Lightweight Titles and the WBO Oriental, the IBO International, and North American Boxing Association Super Lightweight Belts. Foley’s biggest wins have been against Jeffrey Arienza, Ryuji Akeda, Steven Wilcox, James Bacon and Blake Minto.
Catterall arguably beat Josh Taylor for all the belts last year but hasn’t done himself any favours by not fighting for well over a year. He’ll have some ring rust to get through while Foley fought just two months ago. Catterall needs to prove the performance against Taylor wasn’t a fluke and that he really is a worthy title contender. Meanwhile, Foley has carved out a solid career for himself Down Under but isn’t a world title contender. This should be an intriguing fight but Catterall should come out on top.
