Jack Catterall beat former undisputed welterweight world champion Josh Taylor by unanimous decision in a thrilling rematch in Leeds on Saturday night.
Catterall avenged his controversial split decision defeat to Taylor in Glasgow two years ago, landing the heaviest of punches to finally settle the score in one of British boxing’s biggest grudge fights in recent memory.
All three judges gave the fight to Catterall at a sold-out First Direct Arena, two by scores of 117-111 and the other by 116-113, although Taylor felt aggrieved that he was not scored closer.
Taylor worked actively behind his jab in the early rounds, while the southpaw Catterall found particular success with his left hook.
After an accidental clash of heads in the second round, Taylor briefly backed his opponent onto the ropes, but Catterall responded with a swinging left before another clash of heads early in the third caused Taylor to wince.
Jack Catterall and Josh Taylor produced an epic for Leeds audiences
Catterall landed two successive lefts late in the fourth and looked to take control in the fifth, finding range with his jab before hurting Taylor with a series of lefts and rights that pressed the Scot against the ropes.
Taylor regained his composure in the sixth despite swelling under his right eye, but Catterall’s punches continued to be sharper and heavier.
Two short rights from Taylor gave him momentum in the seventh as the two fighters exchanged blows and the Scot was more effective again in the eighth to level the fight.
Catterall broke through his opponent’s defense early in the ninth and the two boxers squared off.
Taylor stalked his man in the 10th, now looking like the more threatening fighter, and landed a right then an uppercut.
But a thunderous right from Catterall in the 11th put Taylor in trouble with little to separate the two heading into the final round as they came to a standstill.
Jack Catterall refused to be denied a second time after losing to Josh Taylor in their controversial first fight
The two fighters first faced each other in February 2022 when Taylor controversially retained his WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO belts in Glasgow via a controversial split decision.
Most observers felt Chorley’s Catterall had done enough to win and over the next two years the fighters traded insults in person and on social media.
This second meeting – no belt was at stake – was postponed twice, first in January 2023 due to Taylor’s foot injury and again in March this year when the Scot had a slight eye problem.
Taylor, who became Britain’s first undisputed world champion in the four-belt era by beating Jose Ramirez in Las Vegas in 2021, lost to American Teofimo Lopez in June last year at his only fight since his first match against Catterall.
The Edinburgh man’s record now stands at 20-2, Catterall’s at 29-1 and there will now be a clamor for a decisive third encounter.
Earlier on the undercard, Jamaican-born Chev Clarke won the vacant British cruiserweight title by knocking out Lewisham’s Ellis Zorro in the eighth round.
