After his victory over Josh Taylor last night, JACK CATTERALL openly expressed his overwhelming relief. He has now shifted his focus towards future endeavors, particularly aiming to compete for a world title.
In Leeds, 27 months after his controversial split decision loss to Taylor in Scotland, the 30-year-old emerged victorious by unanimous decision over the former undisputed super-lightweight champion.
Although there were no championships at stake in the rematch, the fight proved to be a pivotal moment in Catterall’s career.
“Big feeling of relief for me tonight,” he told Boxing News.
It’s been a while in the making, with plenty of back and forth. Josh Taylor’s name has been talked about extensively in the past few years. It’s such a relief to finally defeat him and put an end to all those lingering doubts.
Catterall, with a record of 29-1 (13 KOs), emerged as the victor with unanimous decisions from Judges Mark Bates, Lee Every, and Kieran McCann, who scored the fight 117-111, 116-113, and 117-111 respectively. While many deemed Catterall a deserving winner, Taylor showed remarkable resilience and fought back admirably in the latter stages of the 12-round battle. Unfortunately, it proved insufficient for the 33-year-old, as the outcome had already been determined.
According to Catterall, “I had a strong sense of control throughout most of the rounds.”
I strongly believed that I emerged victorious in the fight. Admittedly, there were instances where I might have eased up and allowed him some chances, but overall, I felt quite confident in my comfortable win tonight.
After our initial fight, I had a strange sensation of victory, even though the decision didn’t go my way. However, tonight I can confidently say that I not only won, but also received the deserved decision.
“I emerged victorious against him. There has been some talk regarding the scorecards. Naturally, I will review the fight footage and assess it personally, but I am confident that I emerged as the winner.”
Catterall’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, is aiming to guide his fighter towards a second shot at a world title. Currently, ‘El Gato’ holds rankings of sixth with the WBO, third with the IBF, fifth with the WBC, and fourth with the WBA. The champions, Teofimo Lopez, Subriel Matias, Devin Haney, and Isaac Cruz, all have upcoming title defenses in the near future. Fortunately, Hearn’s Matchroom stable boasts exceptional talent in the 140lbs division, meaning another significant fight for Catterall is not too distant.
Catterall expressed his desire to claim a world title, firmly believing in his ability to achieve that goal.
“There are numerous exciting fights that can be made with Lopez, Haney, and Matias.”
