By Barry Holbrook: Josh Taylor will be making his first defense of his undisputed light welterweight title this Saturday, February 26th, against his WBO mandatory challenger Jack Catterall LIVE on ESPN+ from The SSE Hydro, in Glasgow, Scotland.

Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs) is finally getting the opportunity to defend his IBF, WBA, WBC & WBO 140-lb titles after becoming the undisputed champion nine months ago with a narrow 12 round unanimous decision win over WBC/WBO champion Jose Ramirez.

Most boxing fans would have preferred to see a rematch between Taylor and Ramirez rather than the Taylor-Catterall fight, but Josh has no choice.

This is a mandated defense for Taylor against the 28-year-old Catterall (26-0, 13 KOs). If Taylor didn’t face Catterall, he’d have been stripped.

Unfortunately, there’s scant interest in the Taylor-Catterall fight due to Catterall not being well known worldwide and never having beaten a top-tier opponent before.

Catterall’s best career wins have come against this bunch:

Ohara Davies
Tyrone McKenna
Timo Schwarzkopf
Tyrone Nurse
Tom Stalker

Those are not world-class fighters, which is why virtually no one is giving Catterall a chance of beating Taylor. Catterall doesn’t possess the experience to be fighting for a world title, let alone facing the #1 guy at 140 for the undisputed championship.

Catterall is getting a shot at the lottery

“Jack [Catterall] is a very skillful fighter. I know he’s an unknown in the U.S, but I know from watching him he’s a very skillful fighter,” said Josh Taylor to Top Rank.

“He’s got good skills and a good repertoire of punches,” Taylor continued. “I’ve got my hands full, and I’ve got to bring my A-game to make sure that he doesn’t take what I’ve worked so hard to get.

“He stepped aside to allow me to fight [Jose] Ramirez, but it wasn’t all the good in his heart. There was a method to his madness. He knew that by him stepping aside, he gets a crack at all the titles.

“I’ve worked my backside off to achieve these goals and beaten champion after undefeated champion. This guy [Catterall] is getting a shot at the lottery in one fight. So it’s my job to make sure he doesn’t get anywhere near any, and he won’t,” said Taylor.

“There’s everything at risk here, everything at stake,” said Taylor’s trainer Ben Davison on his fight with Catterall. “People always say, ‘Oh, he’s the champion, he’s defending his belts.’

“When you get into the ring, those belts go up in the air; nobody owns them. They’re up for grabs,” said Davison. “Only one man can come out and claim them. They’re not guaranteed yours just because you’re the champion.

“You don’t want in and go, ‘I didn’t perform well, but I’ve still got my belts.’ No, nobody owns them. At that moment, nobody owns them. They’re up in the air, and you’ve got to earn them again.

“So, Josh goes into this fight [with Catterall], once the bell goes, he’s the challenger. There is no next. Life doesn’t exist past this fight. Josh has got a lot of options and a fantastic position, but none of them matter at all if he doesn’t come out victorious,” said Davison.

Once this fight is in the rearview mirror for Josh Taylor, he can perhaps move up to 147 and challenge WBO champion Terence Crawford or the winner of the Errol Spence Jr. vs. Yordenis Ugas fight.

There would be no point in Taylor staying at 140, as the only talented fighter in the division is Teofimo Lopez, and Top Rank isn’t going to allow him to face Josh.

With Teofimo’s popularity, Top Rank will rebuild him slowly before they maneuver him into a position where he grabs one of Taylor’s titles once he vacates.

Taylor totally focused

“Right now, I’m thinking of beating Jack Catterall and nothing else,” said Taylor. “But my long-term goals, dreams, and ambitions are to become a two-weight world champion and maybe become an undisputed champion at welterweight as well.

“That’s never been done in two weights. I could go down as an all-time great in the sport, and that is what I want to do,” said Josh Taylor.

“I still want to achieve a lot more. I don’t believe I’ve reached my Mt. Everest yet. I still believe I’ve got a little bit more climbing to do,” said Taylor.

👑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑-𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 👑#TaylorCatterall | SATURDAY | @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/wFdPOEGgua

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) February 21, 2022