By: Hans Themistode
Josh Taylor looked long and hard at Jack Catterall’s login before the two squared off in the ring. While he has the utmost respect for his man, Taylor simply cannot see the path to victory for him.
An enthusiastic Taylor took his time as he passed by SSE Hydro in the UK last weekend for their match. Taylor not only believes she will defend her undisputed 140-pound throne with relative ease, but she also believes Catterall will take a hit like no other.
However, despite his arrogance, Catterall overtook Taylor in the first half of their competition and conceded what appeared to be a nasty win by beating his man in the eighth round. .
Although Catterall and most of the boxing world believed he had done enough for the night, Taylor made the decision to part ways. With all four world titles at 140 pounds still wrapped around Taylor’s waist, nampaw deftly points to his age as the main culprit behind his lackluster performance.
“It was my best performance,” Taylor told Behind The Gloves after his controversial win. “That’s 60% performance from myself. I just don’t feel strong. My feet aren’t really underneath me. For no reason at all, I gained weight well. I have a great dietitian on board. The last two times I’ve done very comfortable weights. But recovering, falling to 140 is hard. I am 31 years old now”.
To deny the weight loss process, Taylor has officially decided to leave the only weight class he has ever known and compete as an official weightlifter.
Shortly before Taylor’s decision, the WBO sanctioning body chose to elevate him to super champion status. Meaning, once Taylor moves 7 pounds north, he’ll become the mandatory challenger to current WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford.
Throughout much of the career of the Omaha, Nebraska native, he was widely hailed as one of the sport’s brightest stars. With Crawford letting Shawn Porter beat Shawn Porter in the first loss of his career on his most recent trip to the ring, the now 34-year-old has publicly welcomed a showdown with Taylor.
The news of his seemingly impending bout against Crawford was music to the ears of the undisputed 140-pound player. While would love to have the opportunity to share the ring with the weight star, Taylor admits that after his most recent performance, Crawford will be anxious to take on him.
“That’s great,” Taylor said when told he would become Crawford’s mandatory when he moved up. “After that performance, I’m pretty sure he thought it was an easy job. So I would think so if I were observing myself. ”
