Probellum is today delighted to announce the landmark promotional signing of super-lightweight superstar Jack Catterall – the signature that everyone in boxing wanted.
Catterall is currently ranked number one in the world by ESPN after controversially being denied the chance of taking undisputed champion Josh Taylor’s crown last month in Glasgow after two of the ringside judges inexplicably ruled against him in a decision that shocked the boxing world.
The sport was united in its outrage against the major injustice but Catterall’s masterclass performance did not go unnoticed and British boxing authorities were quick to urge the world sanctioning bodies to install the 28-year-old as mandatory challenger for each of their titles.
To build on that endorsement, he was flown to Dubai to announce his new promotional deal with
Probellum, the global boxing promotion and fastest-growing brand in the sport, ringside as French Olympic gold medallist Estelle Mossley made history in becoming the first female to headline a boxing event in the Middle East at Probellum Evolution on March 18.
Catterall will also have his eyes firmly focused on tomorrow’s WBC final eliminator between Regis Prograis and Tyrone McKenna, and believes that joining Probellum will play a key role in getting him a well-deserved second shot at world glory.
“Everyone in boxing knows that I won the fight with Taylor and that I should be standing here with all four of the super-lightweight belts as the undisputed champion of the world,” said Jack Catterall, nicknamed ‘El Gato’.
“I showed the world that at I am the best man in the 140lbs division and signing with Probellum will provide me with the opportunities to claim the belts that are rightfully mine.
“I will be ringside again on Saturday night here in Dubai, to watch Prograis against McKenna very closely and I really fancy a fight with the winner. I just can’t wait to get back in the ring and fighting again.”
“This is another huge moment for the Probellum business. Jack is the hottest signature in boxing right now and everyone was making moves to sign him,” commented Richard Schaefer, President of Probellum.
“He decided to join us because he buys into the Probellum mission to change boxing and knows we are the right promoter to fulfil his clear ambition to become the undisputed world champion.
“I was absolutely stunned about what happened in Glasgow and there is no doubt in my mind that Jack should be walking around as the undisputed super-lightweight champion of the world right now.
“We feel his pain and Probellum will leave no stone unturned to make sure Jack quickly gets the chance to fight for the world titles that should already be his.”
Catterall becomes the latest big name to join Probellum alongside Nonito Donaire, Regis Prograis, Estelle Mossely, Lee McGregor, Donnie Nietes, Dina Thorslund and Muhammad Waseem.
The company has also recruited the next generation of stars with Peter and Joe McGrail, Mark Dickinson, Pat and Luke McCormack and Shabaz Masoud among the young talents under the Probellum umbrella.
Day: March 18, 2022
MASOUD SHINES IN DUBAI STOPS BOYEUX IN TWO
Britain’s fast-rising super-bantamweight star Shabaz Masoud delivered a statement of intent by stopping Yoann Boyeux in Dubai.
The ‘Maverick’ dazzled at Probellum Evolution and bamboozled his hugely experienced French rival, forcing him to quit at the end of the second of 10 scheduled rounds.
Masoud moves to 10-0 with this career-best win and said he wanted to leave his mark on the big stage in the Middle East.
“I came out for the first bell and I was looking for the stoppage – I wanted to make a bit of a statement,”said Masoud, who hails from Stoke-on-Trent.
“I’m ready for step-ups in class now, I’ve been saying that for a long time. I know what I am capable of and my team and my family know what I am capable of.”
Earlier on the stacked card, Bakhodir Jalolov took less than five rounds to cement his status as a future heavyweight champion with a brutal beatdown of Kamil Sokolowski.
The 6’7” Olympic gold medallist scored a knockdown in round two with a cuffing shot that Sokolowski brushed off but the Big Uzbek was repeatedly hurting his Polish opponent with backhands to the body.
At the beginning of round five, Jalolov made a telling breakthrough when his lethal left hand dropped Sokolowski just seconds after the bell.
Further punishment was dished out by a menacing Jalolov and Sokolowski fell to the canvas once more under a barrage of clubbing shots, prompting the referee to step in and bring a halt to the contest at 1:17 of the round five.
“I’m ready to compete with the best in the heavyweight division and I am coming for all of the belts, and I know my time is coming,” Jalolov said after the fight, as he moved to 10-0 as a professional, with as many knockouts.
Jalolov is being primed for a big fight in the United States this summer as he builds towards a shot at the heavyweight crown.
Poland’s Eryk Apresyan opened Probellum Evolution with victory over Burak Akkus, dropping his rival with a body shot.
Sultan Al Nuaimi was next in action at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, and the home fighter out-pointed Tanzania’s Hamza Mchanjo over six rounds.
Tom Hill of the United Kingdom was given the nod by all three ringside judges in his bout with Ireland’s Rohan Date.
Hill, who moves to 10-2 as a professional, dropped his opponent in the sixth round and took the contest 77-75, 77-75 and 76-75.
Joshua Ridgewell dominated a blood-stained super-featherweight contest with India’s Suraj Ram.
Ridgewell, from Essex in England, was in control from the off and moved to 2-0 as a professional when the referee stopped the fight in round three due to a nasty cut above Ram’s right eye.
“After that, I’m very happy,” buzzed Ridgewell.
“I landed some really nice shot and stopped everything he was trying to do.”
AVANESYAN VS METZ WEIGH-IN RESULTS
Weigh-In Results:
David Avanesyan – 146lb 8oz
Oskari Metz – 146lb 6oz
Hamzah Sheeraz – 159lb 3oz
Jez Smith – 159lb 9oz
Mark Chamberlain – 136lb 7oz
Jeff Ofori – 138lb 3oz
Sam Noakes – 134.4lb
Vicenzo Finiello – 134lb 2oz
Dennis McCann – 121lb 4oz
Charles Tondo – 118lb 2oz
Masood Abdulah – 124lb 8oz
Sandeep Singh Bhatti – 126lb 4oz
Henry Turner – 141lb 8oz
Ivan Njegac – 146lb 5oz
Sonny Ali – 141lb 5oz
Lee Glover – 142lb
Khalid Ali – 150lb 4oz
Josue Bendana 145lb
Royston Barney Smith 133lb
Adan Martinez to weigh-in tomorrow.
SUNNY EDWARDS VS MUHAMMAD WASEEM WEIGH-IN RESULTS AND RUNNING ORDER
Sunny Edwards and Muhammad Waseem shared an intense face-off ahead of their IBF world flyweight title fight tomorrow night.
Both fighters came inside the 8st limit when they tipped the scales on the stage at the Irish Village in Dubai.
Edwards and Waseem’s hotly anticipated clash headlines the second night of Probellum Evolution, with the WBC super-lightweight title final eliminator between Regis Prograis and Tyrone McKenna acting as the co-main event.
Liverpool’s Peter McGrail, a supremely gifted amateur who is unbeaten as a professional, also fights on the impressive card, which includes TJ Doheny, Hovhannes Bachkov and many others.
Boxing starts at 5:35pm local time with the action from a major night of boxing being broadcast by Eurosport’s linear channels discovery+ and Eurosport App, to 62 million homes across Europe and the Indian sub-continent.
fuboTV will stream both Probellum Evolution shows to its audience in North America, with ESPN KO showing the cards in South America, after a deal was announced last week.
This is how you watch the action from Dubai.
MAIN EVENT
2320 (local time)
IBF WORLD FLYWEIGHT TITLE – 12 Rounds
Sunny Edwards (17-0) 7st 13lbs 5oz
Muhammad Waseem (12-1) 7st 13lbs 12oz
2220
WBC SUPER-LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE ELIMINATOR - 12 Rounds
Regis Prograis (26-1) 9st 12lbs 14oz
Tyrone McKenna (22-2-1) 9st 13lbs 8oz
2150
6 Rounds Super-bantamweight contest
Peter McGrail (2-0) 8st 13lbs
Alexandru Ionita (13-17-1) 8st 11lbs
2100
10 Rounds Featherweight contest
TJ Doheny (22-3) 9st 1oz
Cesar Juarez (27-10) 8st 13lbs 14oz
1955
10 Rounds Super-lightweight contest
Hovhannes Bachkov (2-0) 10st 2lbs 6oz
Cristian Coria (29-9-2) 10st 2lbs 6oz
1935
4 Rounds Cruiserweight contest
Jamie King (2-0) 14st 6lbs 13oz
Naveen Verma (4-1) 14st 2lbs 6oz
1905
6 Rounds Lightweight contest
Bander Samreen (4-0) 9st 9lbs 13oz
Denis Bartos (6-2) 9st 8lbs 14oz
1845
4 Rounds Light-heavyweight contest
Khalid Ayub (2-0) 12st 8lbs 6oz
Annem Sivareddy (1-2) 12st 8lbs 6oz
1805
8 Rounds Lightweight contest
Faizan Anwar (10-4)
Khojiakbov Qodirokhunov (4-0-1)
1735
6 Rounds Super-featherweight contest
Fahad Al Boushi (7-1) 9st 5lbs 13oz
Mohamed Kashinde (11-8-7) 9st 6lbs 1oz
