 Catley was born in Frampton Cotterell, south Gloucestershire, England.Known as "Catman", he turned pro in 1993 as a Middleweight and Won 21 of his first 22 fights (including a victory over Kirkland Laing), and won the WBC International Middleweight Title against George Bocco.However, he then surprisingly lost this title to Hungarian Andras Galfi by TKO.