Jack Catterall heads a Matchroom card at the Echo Arena in Liverpool this Saturday, as he looks to move back into world title contention against Venezuela’s decorated, former three-weight world champion, Jorge Linares.
Catterall’s WBA Intercontinental super lightweight bauble is on the line against Linares over twelve rounds, and DAZN show the bill worldwide.
Catterall (27-1, 13 KOs) saw his stock increase dramatically in defeat last February, when he started as clear underdog in an undisputed title clash with Josh Taylor.
The Chorley man looked to have done more than enough to defeat Taylor in his own back yard, but the judges saw things differently, awarding the win to the Scot via split decision.
A rematch looked a natural, but Taylor pulled out with injury, and then pursued other avenues, forcing Catterall to do the same.
The 30-year-old southpaw dropped Darragh Foley twice on his return last May on the way to a points win in Manchester.
‘El Gato’ now tackles the faded Linares (47-8, 29 KOs), who has campaigned mainly as a lightweight in the last few years, and was hammered by Pablo Cesar Cano inside a round in his only other 140 pound foray in 2019.
After a run as featherweight and super featherweight world champion, the 38-year-old won the vacant WBC lightweight title in 2014 and added the WBA belt before losing to Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2018.
In recent times, the Venezuelan has lost his last three on the spin, his last a ten round points defeat in Russia to Zhora Hamazaryan, having previously lost to Devin Haney.
Prediction: Catterall should look to dominate this one from the off, but Linares will be dangerous early on. I think Catterall can take over after the first few rounds, and halt Linares somewhere around halfway.
Fiaz-Bellotti battle for Commonwealth strap
The vacant Commonwealth super featherweight title is on the line in the chief support, where Aqib Fiaz takes on Reece Bellotti.
Bellotti (16-5, 13 KOs) had lost five fights from seven contests from 2018 to 2021, but his last two outings have seen a renaissance, halting Dean Dodge last April, followed up with a points win against Youssef Khoumari in June.
Fiaz (12-0, 1 KO) steps up to twelve round level for the first time, having never previously been past eight.
Prediction: As he is not a noted puncher, Fiaz should take the belt on the scorecards.
Remaining Undercard
The ten rounders on the card both come at super bantamweight. Peter McGrail (7-0, 5 KOs) impresses with every passing fight, and the 2020 Olympian can come though on the cards against the unbeaten Colombian Fran Mendoza (17-0, 7 KOs).
Shabaz Masoud (11-0, 4 KOs) is a flashy prospect, and he looked good in outscoring Jack Bateson last time out. He may also need all ten rounds to take care of Jose Sanmartin (34-7-1, 21 KOs).
In eight round action on the card, Campbell Hatton (13-0, 5 KOs) takes part in his fifth bout of 2023, and he can outscore Sheffield’s Jamie Sampson (9-2) in their super lightweight meeting.
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Also at super lightweight, Khaleel Majid (11-0, 3 KOs) can remain unbeaten with a points win against the tough Tom Farrell (21-7, 5 KOs). Middleweight prospect Paddy Lacey (9-0, 1 KO) also appears on the card, and he may also need the cards to see off Owen Kirk (3-1-2).
The sole six rounder is at super bantamweight, where Muhammad Mustafa Ali (3-0, 1 KO) should win on points against Giulio Commerso (2-0).
In four rounders, super welterweight hope William Crolla (1-0) can stop Martin Shaw (4-16-3, 1 KO), and bantamweight Jack Turner (2-0, 2 KOs) can do the same against Adam Yahaya (23-10-2, 12 KOs).
