Junior welterweight contender Jack ‘El Gato’ Catterall 28-1 (13) insists he did everything in his power to secure the rematch with his sole conqueror Josh ‘The Tartan Tornado’ Taylor 19-1 (13).
The 30-year-old British southpaw has been in on-again, off-again negotiations for the bout ever since he was bested by Scottish lefty Taylor, 33, by disputed unanimous decision two years ago.
The arch enemies will meet for the second time at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, England on April 27.
“They’ve called it for 140,” Catterall told ProBox TV. “I fight at 140. To make the fight we said we were open to a catchweight; they’ve said 140, so sweet, let’s get it on. Listen, I was more than fair in being negotiable to doing it at a catchweight – they’ve insisted 140 so that’s the way.”
Catterall has boxed twice since his lone professional loss, outpointing Darragh Foley 22-5-1 (10) and Jorge Linares 47-9 (29). Former undisputed junior welterweight champion Taylor has been back in the ring just once, losing his WBO and Ring Magazine titles to Teofimo Lopez 20-1 (13) on points last June.
“It’s a different landscape now. I’ve boxed since, he’s been beaten since. We’ve shared the ring; we’ve done the 12 rounds together, so you’d say we’re familiar in some aspects. But of course, I expect it to be a different fight and I expect it to be more one-sided this time. I’m gonna finish it this time,” Catterall said.
“Josh said after the [first] fight that he had ambitions to go up to 147 and capture titles and he’s finally come back down to earth and realised that they’re not the options anymore.
“The option is – and unfortunately for him – his biggest fight is me. I understand that my biggest fight right now is him. I understand that – I don’t think he likes the fact it is – so I think that’s why we’ve got him here.”
The bad blood between Catterall and Taylor is real. The pair engaged in a bit of push and shove at Monday’s press conference in Edinburgh, Scotland and had to be separated.
“I’m excited we’ve finally got the date and venue,” Catterall said. “It’s been frustrating, probably not just for me, but for Josh as well. A lot of demand for this fight and we’ve finally got it on, so it feels more real. I’m at the first press conference and I’m excited.
“It was a number of things [that meant the rematch took this long to negotiate], but ultimately I don’t think he fancied it. We’ve finally captured him now – we’ve got him where we want him. I’m gonna put him to bed and finish it.
“I earned the right to say that, ‘You know what, we’re not going back to Glasgow, but pick an arena in the UK’. I’m happy to oblige.
“I won the British title in Leeds in 2017 [against Tyrone Nurse], so I am familiar with the place and venue. It’s only an hour from where I live – it’s more than ideal – so yeah, I’m excited for Leeds.”
