DON’T FORGET I’M KING
Crocked Taylor fires warning shot to Catterall
JOSH TAYLOR put pride before the purse when he agreed to a rematch with Jack Catterall.
So, after suffering a horror injury that has at the very least postponed the fight, but perhaps even put it in peril, the Scotsman is desperately hoping the pair will still get it on so he can “obliterate” his rival.
“Obviously, I’m gutted I’ve suffered the injury,” said the 32-year-old, who tore a tendon in a foot last week.
“I had six weeks to go in camp, I was flying, way ahead of schedule, my weight was good, sparring was good, everything was good – I was really flying on all cylinders.
“I really felt I was getting back to my best form and I’d have absolutely obliterated Jack Catterall.
“It would have been a completely and utterly different performance – I’d have been disappointed if it had gone the 12 rounds, so I’m pretty gutted I couldn’t do it.
“It has been a year out the ring since the last fight, I’m in my prime years and it’s the least active I’ve been.
“What’s frustrating is that I’m still the king of the division, still the man to beat, but I have had to vacate my belts just to take this fight.
“I could be looking at much more lucrative fights, I could have gone for a much bigger fight with Teofimo Lopez or taken a rematch with Regis Prograis.
“I could have moved up to welterweight for a good fight and then moved to a title there.
“I wasn’t short of options, but I actually took a bit of a wage cut to fight Jack just to put a bad
performance to bed.” Last February’s fight with Catterall was Taylor’s first defence after unifying the light-welterweight division with victory over Jose Carlos Ramirez in May 2021.
And it ended controversially, with the champion taking a split-decision win that left many claiming Catterall was robbed. ‘I have had to vacate my belts just to take this fight’
So, Taylor’s decision to take a rematch was understandable, although it has cost him three of his four belts, with the WBO version the only one still in his possession.
He added: “It was a pride thing, more for my legacy, so when people look back on my career in 10 or 15 years they can go, ‘Oh, yeah, he had a bad performance, but he put it right, proved the doubters wrong and showed the difference in levels before moving on to bigger and better things’.
“The WBO are saying I could be almost ready for May or June.
“But I don’t want to rush the recovery time and get back into training and have something like this happen again – and it pushes me back even further.”