Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall look set to run it back after a decision victory for the Scottish champion left the world of boxing bemused.
The majority of viewers felt that ‘El Gato’ had done more than enough to win the fight, and the outcry was immediate, with promoter of the show, Ben Shalom, saying he was ‘embarrassed’ by the result.
Given the response from fans and fighters alike, it can legitimately be called one of the most controversial decisions seen in the UK in recent memory. Whilst Taylor copped some criticism for believing he won the fight, the blame lay squarely at the feet of the ringside judges and nobody else.
Now, Taylor has seemingly paused a move up in weight to attempt to settle any debate once and for all – even dropping belts as mandatories were ordered to ensure he could face Catterall.
Shalom of BOXXER has now provided a positive update about the fight. He spoke to Behind The Gloves.
“Jack Catterall and Josh Taylor want to fight each other. Josh has just vacated all his belts, he wants that fight. When both fighters want to fight, it happens – so I believe that will be the next fight for both of them.
“I think it’s fairly close and that’s a fight that everyone wants to see. I think Josh knows he can’t move on from that without addressing what happened, and Jack knows that he wants to redress what’s happened. It’s a massive fight in the UK.”
“This is a fight that needs to happen because of what happened in February and how that fight ended. Whether you thought Josh won or Jack won, it was so ridiculous, it was so controversial that that fight is now a major fight in the UK and I do expect it to happen next.”
When pushed on a date, Shalom said December, January, or February, and confirmed that he had sent an offer to Josh Taylor’s promotional company, Top Rank, to stage the scrap. Last rumours were that it may land in Manchester. Catterall is certainly keen on that given he had travelled to Scotland for the first fight.
Wherever and whenever the fight gets made, there aren’t many more intriguing rematches out there.