Junior welterweight contender Jack Catterall 28-1 (13) has waited two long years to get his revenge against Josh Taylor 19-1 (13) and his chance will finally come when they step through the ropes at First Direct Arena in Leeds, England on Saturday night.
Their first contest in February 2022 ended in a controversial split decision win for the then-undisputed 140-pound champion Taylor in their all-southpaw battle.
Scotland’s Taylor, 33, didn’t have an easy time of it. Catterall got off to a strong start and dropped Taylor in the eighth before being docked a point for excessive holding in the 10th. When the dust settled, Taylor retained his belts by scores of 114-111, 113-112 and 112-113.
Many fans and pundits felt England’s Catterall, 30, was hard done by.
The rematch has been on again and off again many times in the intervening years, but will now finally take place this weekend.
“I’m ready now,” Catterall said. “We’ve had the delays and the setbacks, but it’s fight week, we’re in Leeds, it’s exciting, I’ve done all the hard work and we’re two days away from fighting so it’s very real and I’m very much looking forward to it.
“We both know what stands in front of us now. We’re fighting on Saturday, all the talking is done, we’ve had the build up and the fight is sold, obviously we don’t see eye to eye and we’re both ready to make weight and fight now.”
Taylor’s trainer Joe McNally is expecting a return to form from his fighter, who lost his last bout to Teofimo Lopez 20-1 (13) by unanimous decision in June.
“I’m expecting a magnificent contest, a vintage Taylor performance. A great victory,” McNally said.
“I just hope and pray that there is no controversy. The fight isn’t stopped and started and the referee can handle the occasion. You know, he’s not underqualified for it.”
Catterall admits the first fight wasn’t exactly a crowd-pleasing spectacle in terms of action, but expects a much more high voltage bout in the return.
“Like Joe said, I watched the first fight and I didn’t rate it that much. I thought I beat him and I thought I did it comfortably,” he said.
“I think I under-performed, maybe Josh did as well, but we’ve prepared for the best version of Josh and I think over the last two years I’ve improved as a fighter, I’ve been in the gym, I’ve not stepped out of it, I’ve been learning and developing, taking myself away for sparring. I expect a better fight on Saturday.
“Emotions aside, I think I am the better fighter, and I am going to show that on Saturday night.
“It’s must-win on Saturday and that’s what all my energy is focused on. I don’t want to talk about what is after this. I know you have a great division at 140lbs, there’s a lot of big fights to make and that’s an exciting prospect, but right now all I am thinking about is beating Josh on Saturday.
“I believe I can take him out on Saturday.”
