Breaking news: Josh Taylor injured, Dec. 18 defense vs. Jack Catterall postponed
Undisputed title fight rescheduled for Feb. 26
Undisputed junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor has suffered a knee injury in training, forcing his homecoming defense to be postponed on Thursday, Top Rank announced.
Taylor was due to face mandatory challenger Jack Catterall at The OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland on Dec. 18. Top Rank said the fight has been rescheduled for Feb. 26 at the same venue.
The card will still air live on ESPN+ in the United States and Sky Sports in the United Kingdom.
“I’m gutted I won’t be able to defend my title on Dec. 18 as originally planned, but I wanted to make sure I was 100 percent healthy to give my incredible fans the show they deserve,” Taylor said. “This homecoming has been a long time in the making, and it will be worth the wait. I will see everyone on Feb. 26.”
Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs), 30, of Scotland, is coming off his biggest victory on May 22 at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, where he dropped Jose Ramirez in the sixth and seventh rounds and went on for unanimous decision — 114-112 on all three scorecards — to unify his two world titles with the two belts he took from Ramirez to become the second undisputed 140-pound world champion of the four-belt era. The other was Terence Crawford.
Catterall (26-0, 13 KOs), 28, a southpaw from England, has long been one of Taylor’s mandatory challengers, but he stepped aside to allow the Taylor-Ramirez fight to take place with the promise he would get the next crack at the winner. Now he will just have to wait a few months longer.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Catterall said. “I am gutted not just for me but for everyone who had planned to go. I will remain professional and continue working for the new date. 2022, I will be world champion. Obstacles like this are nothing new for me. I will turn the frustration into positive energy.”
Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
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