MANCHESTER -- Jack Catterall beat Regis Prograis via unanimous decision on Saturday, coming through a tense fight to put himself in the frame for a junior welterweight world title fight.
All three judges ruled in favour of Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs), who twice knocked down Prograis (29-3, 24 KOs), with scores of 117-108, 116-109, 116-109.
Both fighters seemed nervous in the opening rounds, although Prograis advanced more, often chasing his opponent around the ring.
There was a spark at the end of Round 3 when Catterall landed a good left hand, but he couldn't pick up any momentum.
Things finally started to heat up in Round 5. Shouts of "Chorley" for Catterall's hometown rang around the arena after he landed another left, but Prograis scored a knockdown after Catterall was deemed to have dropped, albeit for a split second, after being caught by the American.
The bout will be remembered as a largely scrappy affair. Prograis was judged to have slipped in Round 8, with the Manchester crowd's jolt of excitement short-lived, and both fighters went crashing under the ropes at one stage after wrestling themselves to the canvas.
Things then swung in Round 9 when Catterall scored two knockdowns, first with a left to the head, then a right to finish the round. Despite the crunching blows, Prograis got to his feet almost immediately, but the points were priceless for Catterall, as was the crowd's support.
Catterall seemed to have found a second wind as he built combinations and started to overwhelm Prograis, whose legs seemed to wobble more as the fight drew to a close.
"I hope the fight lived up to its expectations, it was a cagey fight at the start, we both did what we needed to do but there was a lot of credit for Regis after the fight," Catterall told a post fight news conference.
"When I dropped him I wish he'd had stayed down, but he didn't. He showed he's a true champion and got back up. It was about being sensible. Maybe I could have took more risks but maybe that would have gone the other way against me. Overall happy with it and we move on."
Prograis was gracious in defeat, giving credit to Catterall in the ring and said he would like to see him challenge for a belt next.
"Jack was the better man, I'm not going to lie. He deserves a world title fight," Prograis said.
"To be honest, I've fought the best of them, so far, I think Jack is probably the best I've fought. Give this man a round of applause. I hope [promoter] Eddie Hearn, [manager] Sam Jones do the right thing, get him a world title."
On the undercard, Jimmy Joe Flint (15-2-2, 3 KOs) beat Campbell Hatton (14-2, 5 KOs) by unanimous decision in an entertaining clash. Hatton, son of former two-weight world champion and Manchester local Ricky Hatton, was desperate to avenge his loss against Flint in March but fell short in front of a home crowd.
Reece Bellotti's British and Commonwealth super featherweight fight with Michael Gomez Jr. was cancelled after Gomez fell ill before the bout on Saturday.