Josh Taylor Planning to Crush All Controversy with Jack Catterall Rematch!
On February 4, 2023, the highly anticipated rematch will happen between WBO junior welterweight champion Josh “The Tartan Tornado” Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs) and Jack Catterall (26-1, 13 KOs). In their first battle, Taylor was the undisputed champ, fighting in his backyard in Glasgow, Scotland.
Yet he found it difficult dealing with Catterall’s tricky southpaw style. Taylor ended up winning by a razor-thin split decision. Many fans and pundits felt Taylor benefited from hometown cooking.
ON A MISSION TO SHUT FOLKS UP
For the upcoming rematch, the champ is hell-bent on producing a better performance. During an interview with the Scottish media source, the Edinburgh Evening News, the 31-year-old says he’s on a mission to make a statement and send a message to the critics.
“When I win this fight and all the so-called top boxing pundits, the outlets, want to be your friend again, they can all get to France as far as I’m concerned. They showed who they wanted to win the fight with all their bias.
After the fight, it was all ‘Jack this and Jack that’ but I’m still the champion and I’ve heard nothing from anyone, and the stuff they have written about me, they’ve really shown their true colors. It wasn’t that when I became the first Briton in the modern era to become undisputed world champion, they didn’t want to know.”
IT’S NOT JUST BUSINESS
There was plenty of bad blood between Taylor and Catterall leading up to their battle earlier this year. The animosity has intensified. The Tartan Tornado says the beef is not media hype and wants to shut Catterall up once and for all.
“It’s a grudge match. It’s become personal with the things that have been said since the fight, like Jack moaning about corruption and all this shit. There’s a bit of needle there, so I’m going to get in the ring and knock him out this time.”
Initially, Taylor had planned on moving up to 147 pounds. Now, he’s had a change of heart. Instead of dealing with mandatory obligations, he gave up the WBC, WBA, and IBF titles just to face Catterall again. Taylor wants to show he’s the superior fighter, once and for all.
“At the end of the day, he needs me. I’ll beat him pillar to post this time. I’m sick of going over the last fight […] there’s no need to anymore. Everything is back […] I didn’t have that motivation, the fire in my belly but I do now. I took my eye off the ball, but not this time.”
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
