The much-anticipated rematch between junior welterweights Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall looks like it will finally take place on Saturday, May 25, from Leeds, England. The two first entered the ring in February 2022 when Taylor retained his undisputed junior welterweight championship in highly controversial split decision victory. The rematch was set for the following February, but a scheduling conflict forced a one-month delay. Then last Mach Taylor suffered a foot injury that put the rematch in peril. Taylor caused more friction between the two when he abandoned the rematch and was soundly beaten by Teofimo Lopez last June.
Not willing to wait around for the rematch to be finalized, Catterall scored unanimous decision wins over Darragh Foley and Jorge Linares overcoming the grief of his first pro loss that most felt shouldn’t have been. El Gato has been looking forward to this opportunity since the decision at the first fight was read and he’s been installed as a negative odds underdog, showing that oddsmakers view this as a close fight. And if it’s anything like the first encounter it certainly will be.
Josh Taylor vs. Jack Catterall Betting Odds
Josh Taylor -120
Jack Catterall -110
The 12-round junior welterweight fight between Josh Taylor ( 19-1, 13 KOs ) and Jack Catterall ( 28-1, 13 KOs ) will take place on Saturday, May 25, 2024 at First Direct Arena in Leeds, England. The fight will be streamed on ESPN+ and DAZN.
Josh Taylor vs. Jack Catterall Fight Preview
One thing about boxing is that fighters need to have controlled aggression. Catterall has made his displeasure for Taylor know since the controversial split decision in the first meeting. And with the rematch postponed several times, Catterall has the feeling his opponent is dodging him. “All he’s done is stalled the beating he’s going to get and I promise you all I will rid this guy out of boxing once and for all,” Catterall said.
The animosity started in February 2022 when the pair met for Taylor’s undisputed junior welterweight titles. Most observers had Catterall as the victor after knocking down Taylor in the eighth round and opening a cut above Taylor’s left eye. For Catterall the fight was the biggest of his career to date. An unheralded challenger who was unbeaten entering the bout, El Gato fought a technically sound fight and looked more like the world champion than Taylor. However, to Taylor’s credit, he did land some clean punches after a sluggish start and felt he did enough to sway the judges.
Rather than go forward with an immediate rematch and after the bout was delayed several times, Taylor elected to defend his lineal 140-pound championship against Teofimo Lopez. Looking disinterested Taylor was soundly beaten by unanimous decision suffering his first professional setback. He had won his first 19 fights with a KO ratio of 68 percent. He’s a more powerful puncher than his opponent, but Catterall avoided the sneaky shots in the first fight while outmaneuvering his opponent.
Taylor has shown an interest in moving up in weight and vacated three of his four belts to move ahead with the rematch. However, this bout will be at 140-pounds with no titles on the line. That’s fine with Catterall, who seems more interested in avenging his only professional loss and showing once and for all that’s he’s a better fighter. Since his title challenge, Catterall has fought twice beating Darragh Foley and former champion Jorge Linares, who retired shortly after getting outpointed on every scorecard.
Bet Josh Taylor vs. Jack Catterall
Trying so hard to beat Taylor is what worries me most about Catterall. Reading some of his remarks it’s clear he doesn’t like his opponent. And that’s where controlling your aggression comes in. By all accounts Catterall won the first meeting, except the judges are the only ones that matter. Taylor resisted the rematch and if he performs anything like he did against Lopez this one won’t be close enough for the judges to come into play. I do think Taylor will have a few surprises and his powerful jabs are the perfect answer for an over-aggressive opponent. And Taylor had a few sound bites of his own saying, “I’m not afraid of anyone, especially not Jack Catterall.”
Boxing Odds Pick: Josh Taylor / Decision
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