Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall

Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall was a professional boxing match contested between undisputed light-welterweight champion, Josh Taylor, and the WBO's mandatory challenger, Jack Catterall. The event took place on 26 February 2022, at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow. Taylor's decision victory was the subject of one or the biggest controversies in boxing history, with many critics thinking that Catterall won the fight very comfortably.

Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall
Date26 February 2022
VenueOVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland
Title(s) on the lineWBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring light-welterweight titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer Josh Taylor Jack Catterall
Nickname The Tartan Tornado El Gato (The Cat)
Hometown Prestonpans, Scotland Chorley, England
Pre-fight record 18–0 (13 KOs) 26–0 (13 KOs)
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight 140 lb (64 kg) 139 lb (63 kg)
Style Southpaw Orthodox
Recognition WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring light-welterweight champion
The Ring No. 5 ranked pound-for-pound fighter
Result
Taylor wins via Split Decision (112-113, 114-111, 113-112)

Background

In January 2019, Catterall was installed as the number one challenger to WBO champion Maurice Hooker.[1] After Hooker lost his title in a unification fight against WBC champion José Ramírez in July, the WBO ordered Ramírez to face Catterall in a mandatory defence. However, the WBC also ordered Ramírez to face their mandatory challenger, Viktor Postol. Ramírez chose to fight Postol with the agreement that the winner face Catterall next. Less than 48 hours after Ramírez defeated Postol in August 2020, he was again ordered to face Catterall next.[2] In October, Catterall had confirmed that he agreed to a "step-aside" deal to allow Ramírez to face unified WBA (Super), IBF, and The Ring champion, Josh Taylor, for the undisputed light-welterweight title, again with the agreement that Catterall face the winner next.[3]

Taylor defeated Ramírez via unanimous decision on 22 May 2021.[4] Days after his victory, Taylor said of Catterall, "Jack Catterall was decent enough to let me do this fight first. He's been mandatory for some time. He agreed to step aside to let this fight happen. You can see his point, there's method in his madness. If that fight's next, he's got the chance to become undisputed champion. He's made a good choice."[4]

In August, ESPN reported that terms had been agreed between Taylor and Catterall to meet on 18 December at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow.[5] It was announced by Taylor on 21 October that he had suffered an injury, and thus the fight would be postponed to 26 February 2022.[6]

A few details on the undercard were announced late January which includes a ten round bout between Robeisy Ramirez and Eric Donovan.[7] A recent new signing from Top Rank[8] will host a debut match for Kieran Molloy against an opponent yet to be named.

Fight card
Weight Class vs. Method Round Time Notes
Light-welterweight Josh Taylor (c) def. Jack Catterall SD 12/12 Note 1
Featherweight Robeisy Ramirez def. Eric Donovan TKO 3/10 1:04
Heavyweight Nick Campbell def. Jay McFarlane TKO 7/10 2:18 Note 2
Featherweight Kurt Walker def. Jaroslav Hriadel TKO 1/4 2:03 Note 3
Light-middleweight Kieran Molloy def. Damian Esquisabel TKO 2/6 0:33 Note 4
Welterweight Paddy Donovan def. Miroslav Serban TKO 6/6 0:56
Featherweight Mark McKeown def. Engel Gomez PTS 6/6
Super-welterweight Bilal Fiwaz def. Malam Varela TKO 3/4 3:00
Super-bantamweight Ebonie Jones vs. Effy Kathopouli Draw 6/6
Cruiserweight Scott Forrest def. Erik Nazaryan TKO 2/6 1:08 Note 5

^Note 1 For WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring light-welterweight titles
^Note 2 For vacant Scottish Area heavyweight title
^Note 3 Walker's professional debut
^Note 4 Molloy's professional debut
^Note 5 Forest's professional debut

References
  1. "Jack Catterall Pumped at Being WBO No. 1 For Maurice Hooker". Boxing Scene. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  2. Donovan, Jake. "Ramirez-Catterall Mandatory Title Fight Ordered By WBO". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  3. "Taylor v Ramirez moves closer". BBC Sport. 10 October 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  4. McRae, Donald (23 May 2021). "Josh Taylor drops José Ramírez twice to unify all four junior welterweight belts". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  5. Coppinger, Mike (6 August 2021). "Sources: Taylor set to defend belts vs. Catterall". ESPN. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  6. "Josh Taylor 'gutted' after injury delays bout with Jack Catterall in Glasgow". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  7. Random Hits. "Robeisy Ramirez vs. Eric Donovan Added To Taylor-Catterall Card". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  8. "Irish amateur star Kieran Molloy inks a deal with Top Rank". The Ring. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
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