Notebook: Taylor headed for defense vs. Lopez instead of Catterall rematch

Eubank invokes Smith rematch option; Cordina gung ho to challenge Rakhimov; Quick hits; Show and tell

Feb 17, 2023

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Junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor and mandatory challenger Teofimo Lopez were already in negotiations to fight in late May or early June, probably in Taylor’s native Scotland, when the WBO ordered them this week to meet next.

In the letter the WBO sent to Top Rank’s Bob Arum, who promotes Taylor and Lopez, the organization wrote, “Please be advised that in the wake of the recent postponement of the Josh Taylor/Jack Catterall WBO voluntary title defense, the WBO world championship committee is hereby ordering the commencement of negotiations for the mandatory title defense obligation.”

The WBO gave them until Feb. 24 to make a deal or a purse bid will be ordered with a minimum bid of $150,000. Either side could ask for a purse bid at any time before the date but that is unlikely given they are with the same promoter and, according to sources, have already been working on the fight.

Taylor had been scheduled for a rematch with Catterall on various dates, most recently March 4 in Glasgow, Scotland, site Taylor’s hugely controversial split decision win against him to retain the undisputed title last February.

Strung by intense criticism over being awarded the victory, Taylor, who was knocked down by Catterall in the eighth round, vacated or allowed himself to be stripped of his three other titles to pursue a rematch with Catterall rather than make mandatory defenses.

But when Taylor suffered a recent foot injury that forced the fight on March 4 to be called off — and injury that would sideline him for around six weeks — the WBO elected to order the mandatory bout between Taylor and Lopez. Also, not knowing when Taylor would return, Catterall promoter Boxxer lined him up to face an opponent to be determined on its March 25 card in Manchester, England.

Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs), 32, and England’s Catterall (26-1, 13 KOs), a 29-year-old southpaw, have both been idle since they squared off last February and now the rematch is off for the foreseeable future.

After Lopez (18-1, 13 KOs), 25, of Las Vegas, lost the unified lightweight title to George Kambosos by split decision in a rock ‘em, sock ‘em 2021 fight of the year contender, he moved up to junior welterweight and knocked out Pedro Campa in the seventh round in August.

Then, on Dec. 10 in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card at Madison Square Garden in New York, Lopez overcame a second-round knockdown to pull out a split decision over big underdog Sandor Martin to win the WBC final elimination fight to make him Taylor’s mandatory challenger.

Eubank opts for Smith rematch

Chris Eubank Jr. announced that he has exercised his right to an immediate rematch with British countryman Liam Smith, who stunningly knocked Eubank out in the fourth round in an upset in their high-profile middleweight fight on Jan. 21 at sold-out AO Arena in Manchester, England.

"(Tuesday) morning I activated the rematch clause via my lawyers & sent to my promoters Wasserman,” Eubank posted to social media. “Happy Valentines Day Liam Smith.”

Former junior middleweight world titlist Smith (33-3-1, 20 KOs), 34, responded to the post with by writing “Happy Valentine's Day. See you soon.” The post was accompanied by a photo of Eubank (32-4, 23 KOs), 33, on his way to the canvas when Smith knocked him down.

The fight, which was on Sky Sports Boxing Office as a pay-per-view headliner in the United Kingdom and on DAZN in the United States, grew into a major event after Eubank’s hugely hyped fight against Conor Benn scheduled for Oct. 8 was canceled a few days beforehand when Benn’s failed drug test results for a banned substance were made public.

There is no set date or venue yet for the rematch.

Cordina geared up for Rakhimov

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Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov’s mandatory IBF junior lightweight title defense against former titlist Joe Cordina was announced last week as part of Matchroom Boxing and DAZN outlining their schedule through May. This week Cordina began to talk up their meeting, which will take place April 22 at Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, Wales, Cordina’s hometown.

“I saw Rakhimov in Abu Dhabi and he’s certainly a good fighter,” Cordina said of watching him stop Zelfa Barrett in the ninth round to win the vacant title on the Dmitry Bivol-Gilberto Ramirez undercard on Nov. 5. “I respect him. He’s strong and tough but you need to have a more than that to beat me.”

Cordina (15-0, 9 KOs), 31, is anxious to get in the ring with Rakhimov in an effort to regain the 130-pound belt he once held.

Cordina scored a spectacular second-round knockout of Japan’s Kenichi Ogawa to win the title in Cardiff in June but when he could not make a mandatory defense against Rakhimov before it was due — because of a serious hand injury — he was stripped.

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Rakhimov (17-0-1, 14 KOs), 28, a southpaw from Tajikistan, then rallied from a third-round knockdown and stopped England’s Barrett to win the vacant belt.

“I never lost my belt in the ring, so my mindset is that I’m going to be walking in as the champion and leaving as the champion,” Cordina said. “Last time out the fans were unreal, and I can’t wait to experience that incredible atmosphere again in Cardiff.”

Matchroom also announced two undercard bouts:

A rematch between Welsh rivals Gavin Gwynne (15-2-1, 3 KOs), 32, and Craig Woodruff (12-6-1, 4 KOs), 30, for Gwynne’s British lightweight title. They fought to a draw in September.
Cruiserweight Jordan Thompson (14-0, 11 KOs), 29, defends his regional title against fellow Brit Luke Watkins (16-2, 11 KOs), 33.

Quick hits

Weights from Topeka, Kansas, for the DiBella Entertainment-promoted “ShoBox: The New Generation” tripleheader on Friday (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET/PT) at Stormont Vail Events Center: Ardreal Holmes Jr. 152.6 pounds, Ismael Villarreal 152.6; Misael Lopez 124.4, Edward Vazquez 125.2; Kurt Scoby 139.8, John Mannu 139.8 pounds.

The Queensberry Promotions card headlined by WBO interim heavyweight titlist Joe Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs), 37, of England, defending against Zhang Zhilei (24-1-1, 19 KOs), 39, of China, on April 15 at Copper Box Arena in London will stream live on ESPN+ in the United States, sources with knowledge of the details told Fight Freaks Unite, although the deal has not yet been announced. In the United Kingdom the card will air on BT Sport, which has a deal with Queensberry.

With an offer of $25,000, TGB Promotions won the an IBF purse bid for the fight between junior bantamweight titlist Fernando Martinez, 31, of Argentina, and mandatory challenger Jade Bornea, 27, of the Philippines. TGB was the only bidder and has 90 days to put on the fight. Martinez is entitled to 65 percent of the bid ($16,250) and Bornea 35 percent ($8,750). Martinez (15-0, 8 KOs) won the 115-pound title from Jerwin Ancajas by wide decision last February and then beat him again by a similarly wide decision in an immediate rematch in October. Bornea (18-0, 12 KOs) cemented his position with a third-round KO of Mohammed Obbadi in January 2022 and maintained it with a seventh-round knockout of Ivan Meneses in August.

Show and tell

The intense and bitter rivalry between Hall of Famers Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, two of the best in Mexican boxing history, produced one of the most epic trilogies ever. They meet three times between 2000 and 2004 with each bout a world title fight in an increasingly heavier weight class: junior featherweight, featherweight and junior lightweight. All three bouts were outstanding and the first and third bouts were picked as the fight of the year. Their first iconic showdown was a long-awaited battle. They met to unify junior featherweight titles in the main event of a one-fight HBO “Boxing After Dark” telecast that kicked off the fifth year of that great series at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

The expectations were for an all-out slugfest and Morales and Barrera delivered beyond the hype, putting on a fight for the ages nobody will ever forget. The fifth round was picked as the round of the year. Barrera was credited with a questionable knockdown in the 12th round, but Morales prevailed by controversial split decision. I was ringside to cover the second and third fights but I was not at the first one. I had been hired by USA Today as the boxing writer a week or so before the bout but was not starting the job for another month, so I have vivid memories of sitting on the floor of my upstate New York apartment packing boxes for my impending move while watching the fight, which was on Feb. 19, 2000 — 23 years ago on Sunday.

Here are two items in my collection from the bout: an extraordinarily rare (quite possibly one of a kind) glossy, double-sided cardboard site poster that was on display at Mandalay Bay during fight week and is signed by Barrera and the program, which is in Spanish and English and quite scarce.