Ahead of his rematch with Jack Catterall, Josh Taylor seeks to remind boxing fans of his track record before the controversial decision in the first fight.
The decision going Taylor’s way in February of 2022 despite most in the sport feeling that Catterall had won led promoter Ben Shalom to state that he was ’embarrassed’ to be involved. So controversial was the judges’ scoring that it was brought up in the House of Commons.
Taylor, who received criticism despite it being out of his hands, has paused a move up in weight to give Catterall a second fight – although he’s had to vacate some super lightweight belts along the way, meaning this one isn’t for undisputed like the first was.
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the March fight in Glasgow, the Scottish champion said that the fight – which he still thinks he won despite a self-confessed poor performance – didn’t define his career.
“I’m not really bothered what people say. If they think [he] won the fight then that’s fine, but the judges obviously didn’t like what they saw from Jack’s tactics in the later rounds and all that, so it is what it is.
I’m still the champion – but it was the the aftermath, the ‘I’m not good, I’m a fake champion’ and all of that sort of stuff. But the people seem to forget what I’ve [done] in the last 18 fights.
Becoming undisputed world champion in 18 fights. Unified champion in 16 fights. The Ali Trophy. Beating six unbeaten fighters in six fights. A [combined] record of 122-0 or something like that.
People forget all of that and just focus on one negative in the one performance.”
Taylor defeated Jose Ramirez, knocking him down twice, to become the first British fighter to reach undisputed status in the four-belt era.
His undefeated record has some extremely impressive scalps, including that of Regis Prograis, and he’ll be looking to add Catterall to that list – again, but this time more convincingly – early this year to kickstart his campaign once more.