JACK CATTERALL insists emotions will not play a factor in his rematch with Josh Taylor on Saturday night (May 25) in Leeds.
The two super lightweights meet at First Direct Arena more than two years on from one of the most talked about judges’ decisions in recent years. On that February night in Glasgow, Taylor was unanimously awarded a split decision. The fallout was high-stakes, raw, and involved a lot of angry exchanges from both sides online.
Catterall and Taylor’s disdain for each other resurfaced in two recent press conferences in Edinburgh and Manchester to promote the fight. The British told Boxing newsHowever, that emotion will not take over the ring on Saturday and affect his performance.
“I don’t fight with emotion,” Catterall said. “[I’m] very calculating and very pop. That being said, there has been an emotional buildup. Emotions run high, a lot has been said, but you have to learn to compartmentalize them, fight with intelligence and not let emotions affect your performance.”
Catterall, 28-1 (13 KOs), has hardly made a mistake in his two fights since then against Darragh Foley and Jorge Linares. Catterall’s promoters, Matchroom, hold several aces in the super lightweight division, and the 30-year-old can be sure of another big fight in his future if he defeats Taylor. However, if ‘El Gato’ wins and the rematch is a much more fan-friendly encounter than the first, then a trilogy could be another option for him.
“I think it’s all down to the broadcasters, DAZN and Matchroom,” Catterall said.
“If they think it was an explosive and strong fight then we will do it again, we did three but right now I am focused on beating him. [on] Saturday. I want to close that chapter and not talk about Josh anymore.”
