By Jim Calfa: Two days after his highly controversial 12 round split decision victory, undisputed light welterweight champion Josh Taylor spoke up today, saying he would be willing to give Jack Catterall a rematch, albeit with NO titles on the line in the 147-lb division.
The rematch with Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs), should Catterall (26-1, 13 KOs) accept it, wouldn’t give him the chance to become the four-belt champion at 140 and open the door to make millions as the undisputed light welterweight champion.
The endorsement money alone that Catterall could have pulled in as the undisputed light welterweight champion would be enormous.
Without the four titles on the line, a rematch against Taylor wouldn’t be worth it. There’s no gain for Catterall other than the payday from the fight, which would be good, but it wouldn’t have the long-lasting impact as it would if Jack were to capture Taylor’s four 140lb straps.
Last Saturday night, Scottish fighter Taylor defeated his WBO mandatory Catterall by a controversial 12 round split decision at the SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. The scores were 113-112, 114-111 for Taylor, and 113-112 for Catterall.
In the aftermath of the fight, fans have complained repeatedly over the results of the Taylor-Catterall battle, believing that Catterall deserved the victory.
Taylor offers Catterall a rematch at 147
“I’ve had a chance to watch the fight back. First and foremost, I want to congratulate Jack Catterall on a great fight,” said Taylor on Instagram. “He rose to the occasion and fought a valiant fight. However, I believe I won a very close contest.
“Many fans believe Jack deserved the decision, and that’s fine,” Taylor continued. “We both went in there and fought our guts out for 12 rounds, but the personal attacks on myself and especially my family are disgusting and uncalled for.
“My days at 140 are numbered. My future is at welterweight. Jack Catterall deserves another title shot, and as soon as possible. I’ve never ducked a challenge in my career, and I’d be happy to fight Jack again. Still, it would have to be at welterweight,” said Taylor in making it clear Catterall WON’T get the opportunity to fight for the undisputed 140-lb championship.
If this is the best that Catterall can get from Taylor, he might want to accept his offer of a rematch.
The chances of Catterall making life-changing money beating Taylor and taking his four 140-lb titles from him wouldn’t be there for him.
Given the amount of interest from boxing fans in a Taylor-Catterall rematch, Catterall will likely make more money going in that direction than battling for one of the soon to be vacated four titles at 140.
It’s a shame that Taylor doesn’t want to return to the 140-lb division to fight Catterall with all four belts at stake. You can argue that Taylor’s self-confidence is shot after the way he struggled against Catterall, and he’s not willing to chance it in a rematch at 140.
Taylor’s problems against Catterall didn’t stem from him being weight drained. The reality is Taylor is getting older, he took a lot of punishment in his previous fight against Jose Ramiez, and he never was a great fighter to begin with.
Taylor likes to say that he cleaned out the 140-lb division, but the truth is, he hasn’t scratched the surface in terms of beating all the talented fighters in the division. His best wins at light welterweight have come against these fighters:
- Jose Ramirez
- Regis Prograis
- Jack Catterall
- Viktor Postol
- Ivan Baranchyk
Taylor’s wins over Prograis, Ramirez, and Catterall could have gone the other way. The Prograis should have been a draw, and as we saw last Saturday, Catterall got the business in Glasgow. He beat Ramirez by knocking him down after hitting him on the break.
In leaving the 140-lb division, Taylor is skipping over this murderers row of killers:
- Subriel Matias
- Jose Zepeda
- Arnold Barboza Jr
- Teofimo Lopez Jr
- Shohjahon Ergashev
- Sandor Martin
- Shakhram Giyasov
