By: Sean Crose
The two men had met before. Back in 2022, Jack Catterall and Josh Taylor met in Scotland and fought a close, if not thrilling, twelve round battle for the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO junior welterweight titles. Taylor ended up walking out of the ring that night with the four belts and a unanimous decision win to add to his resume. While the decision was a controversial one in favor of Taylor, Catterall was able to to avenge his only loss Saturday in Leeds, England as he met Taylor in the ring once again for a scheduled twelve round affair.
The southpaw Catterall put his jab to good use throughout the opening round. Both men worked behind their jabs in the second while a clash of heads momentarily halted the action. Although much ink had been spilled about the bad taste the first match had left in the mouths of many (who felt Catterall had been robbed), each man was fighting carefully early on Saturday, so as not to make a major mistake. Taylor worked hard to take it to his man in the third, a strategy that met with some success. The fourth saw Catterall employ defensive skills while picking his shots on Taylor.
Heading into the midway point of the fight, Catterall was able to become aggressive with Taylor and get the better of the taller man. While Taylor largely pushed the action in the sixth, Catterall was able to maintain range. By the seventh, however, Taylor managed to land to the body and put his weight on Catterall in the clinch. Sure enough, Catterall looked as if he might be gassing out in the eighth. Taylor continued to look strong in the ninth, as he took to Catterall with a southpaw right hook repeatedly.
With that being said, Catterall was able to impress with his jab again in the tenth. Catterall caught Taylor hard in the eleventh. The two men then caused themselves to land on the mat via grappling with one another. The twelfth and final round was close – as the entire fight had been. Ultimately, however, the judges ruled in favor of Catterall by unanimous decision. As the broadcast team indicated, a third match would well be in order. Catterall, however, might well move on at this point in his career. The second fight appeared to be more action oriented than the first had, after all. Even more telling, it had a decision from the judges that wasn’t leading many to scream robbery.
Except, perhaps, for promoter Bob Arum.
Images: DAZN