NEW CENTURY HALL, MANCHESTER — Jack Catterall and Josh Taylor’s bitter boxing rivalry is the opposite of the old idiom about a needle in a haystack.
Put the English and Scottish super lightweights in the same room or even the same building and you can’t move for needle.
Take something as throwaway as former undisputed 140-pound champion Taylor presenting Catterall with a colour-by-numbers crayons set when he arrived half an hour late for Tuesday’s press conference in Manchester to promote an April 27 rematch that has been two years in the making.
Taylor’s prop for an ongoing jibe over what he perceived to be his foe’s lack of intelligence resulted in Catterall laying hands on him for the second day in succession. An altercation at Monday’s event in Edinburgh saw Taylor shove Catterall. Here — backed by a buoyant contingent from his native Chorley at the New Century Hall – Catterall cuffed his man around the head before a security detail on high alert intervened.
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“It’s the big fight feel. With me and Josh, it’s genuine. We don’t like each other,” Catterall told The Sporting News in his dressing room before heading to the stage for the smirking Taylor to dispatch the unwanted gift.
“I think that’s the top and bottom of it, really. There’s that needle there. We’ve both got a lot of support so it builds nicely for a big fight. I just can’t wait to get in there.”
Did Josh Taylor beat Jack Catterall?
Enmity has simmered between the pair since their initial encounter in Glasgow in February 2022. Taylor, then on the crest of a wave after winning his undisputed showdown with Jose Ramirez, was heavy favourite but found himself frustrated, befuddled, cut and — in round eight – decked by the southpaw Catterall.
The champion also had a point deducted for punching after the bell in round 10. It felt hard to find a way to give him the nod on the scorecards, but the judges duly did as Taylor won one of the most controversial decisions in a British ring over recent years by split decision.
But backstage, Catterall is a picture of calm as gym-mate Cameron Vuong is gently ribbed while conducting an interview of his own and Anthony Crolla — boxing royalty in this part of the UK — chats with Catterall’s assistant trainer Nigel Travis.
All it takes to prick as the scars of this mutual dislike is to ask about the chosen weight for the rematch.
What weight is Taylor vs. Catterall 2?
Despite Taylor having talked for the best part of three years about wanting to step up to welterweight and losing last time out to Teofimo Lopez, the bout will be back at the 10-stone limit where each has resided throughout their professional careers.
So why has Taylor agreed to what might end up being viewed as a disadvantage at Leeds’ First Direct Arena?
“Concussed, confused,” Catterall replied, wearily rather than spitefully. “He wanted to move up two years ago. My instruction to Sam [Jones, Catterall’s manager] was to make the fight.
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s welterweight, 144 or another catchweight. It doesn’t matter. They’ve requested 140, so let’s hear no complaints after the fight.
“We all make sacrifices. Listen, it was easier five years ago than it is now but if you stay disciplined and look after yourself it’s doable. It’s all science these days so if I didn’t feel like I could make the weight I’d move up, but right now 140 is my weight.”
It’s interesting that Catterall should hit upon that measurement of time. Five years.
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Much has been made of the two-year delay in getting the rematch together. A return slated for January 2023 was postponed when Taylor suffered a torn foot tendon. By the time he was fit again, the WBO called his mandatory against Lopez and he opted for a money-spinning showdown in New York with the former unified lightweight champion.
Taylor had ceded his other three major belts as negotiations over the Catterall rematch rumbled on. He lost titles and Catterall lost time. The latter can very reasonably argue that this has been the case since he was installed as the WBO’s No. 1 ranked super lightweight in January 2019.
Ramirez and Taylor fighting to unify the division meant that can was kicked down the road repeatedly. Tally it all up and the 30-year-old Catterall has spent five years of his career essentially waiting for Taylor.
“You know what, COVID didn’t help,” he recalled. “I got into a WBO No. 1 position. Then they had unifications, undisputed. So I kept getting delayed and delayed.
“But I was confident that the cream rises and my time will come. So I stayed in the gym and I enjoyed being in the gym. It’s a good environment. That’s where I feel most comfortable.
“We waited, we got the fight and we know how that went. In the aftermath I didn’t think it was going to come to getting a rematch. I’ve gone on and since had two fights. But I think we both find ourselves in a position where the fight makes sense. I’m excited for it.”
Catterall’s hope is for a conclusive ending to the narrative that has dominated his elite career. The Matchroom stable boasts a plethora of 140lbs talent, from world champions Devin Haney and Subriel Matias to the likes of Richardson Hitchens, Liam Paro and former two-time champ Regis Prograis.
If he takes care of business against Taylor, finally, a glittering future will open up.
“We went the distance last time, I believe I won comfortably. I believe I’ve come on since that fight,” he said. “Make no mistake, I’m preparing for the best Taylor. But do I think he’s reached his peak? I do.
“I’m going to go in there and if I see my opportunity [for the stoppage] I’m going to take it. But ultimately I’m going to beat him from pillar to post for 12 rounds.”
Will that mean it’s time to acknowledge so much water under the bridge? The best of enemies and post-fight drink, or at least a handshake?
“Hmmm, I don’t think so,” Catterall said.
