By Barry Holbrook: Tyson Fury believes that the judging was a “disgrace” for the recent Josh Taylor vs. Jack Catterall fight on February 26th at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.
Fury thinks Catterall (26-1, 13 KOs) should have been given the victory, and he’s not sure what the two judges were thinking that scored the contest in undisputed light welterweight champion Taylor’s favor by the scores 114-111 and 113-112.
The third judge had 113-112 for Catterall, but he lost the fight by a 12 round split decision. Promoter Eddie Hearn says Catterall’s defeat cost him millions, as he would have made massive money as the four-belt 140-lb champion.
Hearn states that instead of Catterall getting millions for his next fight, he might get a few hundred thousand if he battles for one of Taylor’s soon-to-be-vacated 140-lb titles.
Catterall would have made life-changing money had the judges given him the victory over Taylor. Unfortunately, Taylor will likely never get this kind of opportunity again to battle for an undisputed championship.
The Taylor vs. Catterall fight results won’t be overturned, and Josh has already made it clear that there will NOT be a rematch because he’s moving up to 140. Taylor is convinced that he deserved the victory, so there’s no point in him taking his career backward to give Catterall a rematch.
Fury: The judging is a disgrace
“I think the judging these days is a disgrace, and they need a good kick in the a** for it, but it’s not the fighter’s fault,” said Tyson Fury to BT Sport Boxing on Josh Taylor’s controversial win over Jack Catterall.
“The fighters didn’t make any decisions, but the judging is ridiculous. I’ve seen it happen with Miguel Vazquez and Lewis Ritson as well. That was an absolute joke, and the other night was terrible.
“The judges, I don’t even know if they’re watching boxing or they’re just going with who they think should win—spoiling the sport. Hence, that’s why we’re not going to have any British judges on this Wembley show, not one because they’re not qualified.
“They keep making people’s lives and careers terrible. Jack Catterall, he’s been a pro a long time and has been boxing all his life. He trained his guts out for this fight dedicated everything.
“He boxed unbelievable, the best I’ve ever seen him—what a game plan for Jamie Moore and the team; congratulations, guys. Jack, unbelievable performance, and to NOT get the decision, it makes me wonder. Do I really want my kids to box and go through all this heartache?
“Josh Taylor did the best that he could on the night, and he looked flat, looked weight drained. He could have been, but that’s not Jack Catterall’s fault,” said Fury.
“I don’t think it’s Josh Taylor’s fault; the stick that he’s taken is unwarranted,” said Carl Frampton.
Davison said Taylor needed a knockout
“We can’t really do a lot, but these judges, they need their heads tested,” said Fury. “I don’t know how you scored the fight.”
“I gave it to Catterall by four rounds,” said Frampton.
“You give him 8-4,” said Fury. “Without me sitting on the fence and saying, ‘No disrespect to both fighters because I know them both anyway.’ Going into round eight, I had Jack Catterall nine rounds up with the knockdown.
“I didn’t give him one round in the first eight rounds, and that’s me being honest. In my opinion, he needed a knockout to win the fight in round twelve.
“I think Ben [Davison] told him in round twelve, ‘You need a knockout.’ I think he said, ‘Stoppage,’ and that was it. I don’t know what the judges were watching, to be fair. It wasn’t even a close fight, in my opinion, but what do I know? I’m just the heavyweight champion of the world. I know nothing,” said Fury.
Davison said that Taylor needed a knockout, which suggests that he knew he was in a hopeless situation in the championship rounds.
Catterall looked like he was on his way to a clear decision victory, which is why it’s so troubling that he wound up losing. Sadly, Catterall won’t be given a second chance. How could the judges be so wrong?
Catterall’s career has been destroyed
“They can’t change the decision now, and they’ve absolutely destroyed Jack Catterall’s life and career, and that’s it. The other fellow [Taylor] had a bad night. Whatever his problem was great. It’s not Jack Catterall’s fault,” Fury said.
“I think that’s the issue with judging. They don’t think about this rationally. How does this affect Jack Catterall’s life going forward? They don’t think about that,” said Frampton.
“It’s disgraceful, to be fair, and this isn’t the first time,” said Fury. “It’s not just Jack Catterall that has been a victim of this. It has happened quite a few times in recent times.
“There’s lots and lots of fights where they don’t get it. No respect to Josh Taylor, he’s a good fighter, but it wasn’t his night,” said Fury.
