Devin Haney and Jack Catterall both took to social media to ask His Excellency Turki Alalshikh to help put a fight together between the two defensive artists.
It’s unclear why the two would need Turki to finance a fight because neither of them is a star, and that would require him to intervene to put this level of a fight together. Catterall’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, could easily come up with the dough to make a Haney-Catterall fight, provided that Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) doesn’t price himself out.
If you’re Turki, do you want to pay Haney and Catterall millions for a fight that promises to be a dull, defensive affair that involves a lot of running and holding for 12 rounds? I don’t think so.
If Turki did want to put a fight together with one of them, it would more likely involve them facing fighters that would interest the boxing public. Haney-Catterall is a clash that would be DOA [dead on arrival] in terms of attracting fan appeal.
Catterall Should Fight
– William Zepeda
– Ryan Garcia
– Subriel Matias
Those fighters would be trouble for Catterall, who has no power and incapable of standing his ground and fighting. He has no faith in his chin.
Ideal Oppnents For Haney
– Jaron Ennis
– Bakhram Murtazaliev
– Israil Madrimov
Considering that Haney rehydrates to the mid-160s, I included some junior middleweights because that’s the division he should be fighting in if the same-day weigh-ins were brought back to the sport.
Fans on social media are roasting Haney & Catterall today, saying they’re “begging” Turki and viewing it as “shameless.” It wouldn’t be so bad if Haney and Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs) entertained fighters with exciting fighting styles that Turki would be interested in placing on one of his Riyadh Season cards.
Unfortunately, they’re boring to watch. They win their fights by running, jabbing, and holding. Catterall is arguably the less entertaining of the two, but Haney comes close. The difference is that Haney at least tries to fight at times, which is why he often gets hurt in his fights. Catterall takes no chances in his fights and is always on the run.
Until now, Haney has only been involved in one big fight during his career, and that was against Ryan Garcia last April, who wiped the deck with him in Brooklyn, New York. It’s believed Ryan brought in most of the PPV buys thanks to his 12 million Instagram followers.
Catterall, AKA The British Shakur, is coming off a career-best win over former WBA and WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis last weekend at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England.
The Eddie Hearn-promoted Catterall knocked 35-year-old Prograis down twice in the ninth and then ran for the final three rounds to preserve the victory, winning a dull 12-round unanimous decision.
Let’s go @Turki_alalshikh 🙌 https://t.co/2TNiaK3QYB
— Jack Catterall (@jack_catt93) October 28, 2024
