Catterall gains sweet revenge in decision over Taylor in rematch
Clarke KOs Zorro to win British cruiserweight title; Donovan stops Ritson
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More than two years ago Jack Catterall heard the final bell for his challenge of then-undisputed junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor and thought he had won the fight and all the belts, and legions agreed with him.
And then Taylor, on home turf in Glasgow, Scotland, was awarded a split decision victory that was viewed by many in the United Kingdom as a scandalous result of what had been a sloppy but close fight. Nonetheless, Taylor left the ring as champion, Catterall was bitterly disappointed and talk of a rematch was immediate.
It was eventually made but for various reasons postponed multiple times and eventually canceled, leaving them to go their separate ways with Taylor soon losing his remaining belt — the others were vacated or stripped — to Teofimo Lopez last June.
But Taylor-Catterall II still represented each man’s biggest fight because there was unfinished business and the U.K. fans still demanded it. So, it was re-booked for April 27 but postponed yet again until finally they confronted each other on Saturday night to culminate a bitter buildup to a promotion titled “Hate Runs Deep.”
This time around, 27 months after Taylor’s heavily disputed win, Catterall exacted sweet revenge in a hard-fought unanimous decision in a nontitle affair far more crowd pleasing than their first encounter at sold-out First Direct Arena in Leeds, England, which was an acceptable location as neither man would agree to fight in the other guy’s home region.
Catterall, who charged to a big lead by dominating the first half of the fight, won 117-111 on the scorecards of judges Kieran McCann and Mark Bates while Lee Every scored it 116-113. Fight Freaks Unite also had Catterall winning, 116-112.
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