Jack Catterall (29-1, 13 KOs) boxed his way to a 12 round unanimous decision win over former undisputed light welterweight champion Josh Taylor (19-2, 13 KOs) in their non-title rematch on Saturday night in a 140-lb contest at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, England.
The scored were:
– 117-111
– 116-113
– 117-111
Catterall, 29, used his jab and strategic clinching to control most of the rounds. It seemed like he faded after the fifth round, and held frequently to to keep the southpaw Taylor from landing anything of note.
It was kind of a dull fight to watch unless you like watching clinching and jabbing. That was pretty much mostly what Catterall did to win rounds. The 33-year-old Taylor looked faded but fought better than he had in his previous fight against Teofimo Lopez.
All in all, it was a good performance from Catterall. Given that he’s with Eddie Hearn, a fight between him and WBC light welterweight champion Devin Haney would be an interesting fight.
There would need to be a good referee to control all the holding because both guys are clinchers and jabbers. Catterall’s fighting style might not be good for U.S audiences, who prefer action. A fight between Catterall and Haney would be poison.
Cruiserweight Cheavon Clarke (9-0, 7 KOs) knocked out Ellis Zorro (17-2, 7 KOs) in the seventh round to win the vacant British title. Clarke landed two solid right hands to the head of Zorro, putting him down on the canvas in round eight.
The referee, Mark Bates, then counted out the 31-year-old Zorro. The time of the stoppage was at 2:59 of the eighth. It was a competitive fight through seven rounds with not much to differentiate the two.
The difference came in the eighth when Zorro opted to exchange hard shots with Clarke in close and was caught with a hard right hand that stunned him. Zorro then motioned Clarke in, and he obliged by catching him with a right hand that sent him to the canvas.
Zorro had been knocked out in the first round in his previous fight by Jai Opetaia last December, and it might have been a mistake to return to the ring so soon after that fight.
Irish welterweight Paddy Donovan (14-0, 11 KOs) kept his unbeaten record intact, defeating veteran Lewis Ritson (23-4, 13 KOs) in the ninth round.
Donovan, 25, backed Ritson up against the ropes in the ninth and unloaded with an unanswered series of hard shots, causing referee Howard Foster to step in and stop the fight. The time of the stoppage was at 0:32 of the ninth.
It was a decent little scrap. Ritson was competitive throughout, landing a lot of hard shots at the easy to hit Donovan. The tide turned in the eighth round when Donovan started landing a lot of uppercuts and body thots and backing Ritson up.
It’s unclear what the big picture is for Donovan. He didn’t show the kind of talent tonight that suggests he’s capable of holding his own against top-tier contenders at 147. He looks more like a domestic-level fighter rather than someone who can be a gatekeeper someday.
Gary Cully trudged past Francesco Patera, whose early gusto quickly evaporated, leaving him sputtering like a deflated balloon. With a strategy reliant solely on his longer reach and a jab, Cully coaxed the judges into handing him an overly generous score of 98-92 and 96-94 (twice), making it seem as if height alone should dictate a win, while Patera, despite throwing more meaningful punches, faded into obscurity.
Giorgio Visioli continued his monotonous parade of knockouts, delivering nice body shot to Sergio Odabai. With this, Visioli maintained his pristine record, now gleaming with a 100% knockout rate.
George Liddard made his middleweight debut in a bout as brief and memorable as a commercial break, wiping out Graham McCormack in a single round. This encounter was so rapid and devoid of competition, it might as well have been mistaken for a light sparring session rather than a professional fight.
As for Emmanuel Buttigieg, he took to a leisurely pace, meticulously dismantling Anas Isarti over six rounds in a display that had all the excitement of a chess match.