Both John Evans and Mike Coppinger report that the long-brewing rematch between Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall is set for April 27th at First Direct Arena in Leeds.
Per Coppinger, the bout will air on ESPN+ in the Sates, TSN in Canada, and DAZN elsewhere. DAZN already has another rematch between Ja’Rico O’Quinn and Peter McGrail penciled in for that date in Liverpool, so we’ll see if that gets moved or they do a split broadcast.
Taylor (19-1, 13 KO) once the undisputed super lightweight champion and a fixture of the pound-for-pound list, experienced a truly bizarre and self-inflicted fall from grace over the last few years. After falling to Catterall (28-1, 13 KO) in the eyes of virtually every viewer save for two ringside judges, Taylor did everything he could to dodge the rematch, insisting he could no longer make 140 and letting the mandatory clock run out on three of his four belts.
The pair finally agreed to rematch last February, but after scheduling issues forced a delay, Taylor turned around and signed up to fight Teofimo Lopez. He proceeded to rub the snub in Catterall’s face, but now comes crawling back after falling to “The Takeover” in one-sided fashion.
Catterall probably should have moved on at some point, but at least he’ll finally get a shot at revenge. A win here could put him right back in line to challenge for a title, though he may have to wait in line for a bit; Sandor Martin presumably has next crack at the WBC belt after Ryan Garcia and Catterall already turned down a final eliminator against Richardson Hitchins, so the IBF may not be keen on letting him take a crack at Subriel Matias.