By Barry Holbrook: Undisputed 140-lb champion Josh Taylor has agreed to terms for a title defense against his WBO mandatory Jack Catterall on December 18th at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.

ESPN is reporting that the unbeaten Taylor (18-0, 11 KOs) will be facing #1 WBO Catterall at home in Glasgow in a fight he had little choice but to take. ‘The Tartan Tornado’ Taylor, 30, wants to hold onto all four of his 140-lb belts for now, so defending them against Catterall is necessary.

If Taylor wins, he’ll be moving up to 147 in the first quarter of 2022 to challenge WBO champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford for his title. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has already confirmed that Taylor and Crawford will be fighting early next year.

If Taylor defeats Crawford, he’s expected to stay at 147 and then take on the winner of this month’s fight between Manny Pacquiao and IBF/WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr.

Taylor will be vying to become the undisputed champion in a second weight class at 147, which would be a HUGE accomplishment if he’s successful.

The 2012 Olympian Taylor defeated WBC/WBO 140-lb champion Jose Ramirez by a 12 round unanimous decision in an undisputed clash three months ago on May 22nd to capture the last two belts.

Taylor traveled to the U.S to defeat Ramirez on his home turf in Las Vegas. It was a brilliant performance by Taylor, who took advantage of a couple of mistakes on Ramirez’s part to drop him twice in the contest.

“I’ve dedicated my whole life for this moment,” Taylor said to ESPN in reflecting on his victory over Jose Ramirez. “I’ve dreamt of it so many times over, man. I’m so, so happy. I’m over the moon. I’ve trained for this moment all my life.”

The 26-year-old Catterall has patiently been biding his time, waiting for his eventual chance to get his WBO mandated title shot.

Ramirez and Taylor had to fight it out first, and now that Josh has emerged as the winner, Catterall will finally get a chance to show what he can do.

Catterall will need to raise his game for him to dethrone Taylor, considering he’s facing the clear #1 in the 140-lb division. Up to this point, Catterall hasn’t faced anywhere near the same level of opposition that Taylor has.

In arguably Catterall’s toughest fight to date, he squeaked by Ohara Davies, beating him by a 12 round unanimous decision three years ago in 2018.

The scores were 115-113, 118-110, and 115-113. This is the same Davies that Taylor destroyed in 2017, stopping him in the seventh round. Taylor was seemingly gleeful during the contest, smiling while battering the overmatched Davies.

“I have been very patient, and it’s been a long time coming, but I will be getting my crack,” Catterall said.

Catterall is a step down for Taylor from Ramirez and some of the other talented fighters he’s beaten during his career. Taylor’s toughest bouts have come against these excellent fighters:

Regis Prograis
Viktor Postol
Iva Baranchyk

Catterall would be hard-put to defeat any of those three guys, which is why he’s likely to be a huge underdog against Taylor.