Following the outrage from Josh Taylor’s win over Jack Catterall the British Boxing Board of Control are to order a report into the judges three scorecards.
On Saturday night at the SSE Hydro, Glasgow Taylor walked to the ring as undisputed super-lightweight champion of the world. In the opposite corner was his WBO mandatory challenger Jack Catterall who last year stepped aside to allow the Scot to face Jose Carlos Ramirez for all the belts in May.
Taylor’s Scottish homecoming ended in controversy with the champion getting the nod via split decision. The three British judges on the night were Howard Foster, Victor Loughlin, and Ian John-Lewis. Foster scored it for Catterall 113-112, the same score but in reverse was given to Taylor by Loughlin while Lewis came to a 114-111 conclusion for the champion.
His card gave the champion an absurd seven rounds from a possible twelve with a 9-9 score in the penultimate round thus giving Catterall four rounds which were the first, the fifth, the sixth and the eighth.
In round eight Catterall dropped Taylor while in the eleventh the home fighter was deducted a point for a punch after the bell. But Lewis decided to score it even believing that Taylor had won those three minutes which turned a possible 10-8 for Catterall into a 9-9 tie.
“We will be looking into it,” the BBBofC Secretary Robert Smith told The Telegraph.
“There were some very close rounds, it was a very close, very scrappy fight, and I have asked for reports from the judges which we will be studying this week. Our judges are honest people, and scored it as they saw it. I was there, and I thought Catterall pipped it.”
The result was met with condemnation and anger from fighters, media, and fans. Many believed that the challenger had done more than enough to earn the win and go back to Chorley as the undisputed super-lightweight champion.
Catterall’s team led by trainer Jamie Moore were appalled at the outcome with Moore threatening to quit the sport.
Boxing Social scored the fight 115-110 to Catterall.