By: Hans Themistode
Throughout most of their bouts, Jack Catterall has his eye on Josh Taylor’s 140-pound IBF, WBO, WBA, WBC, and Ring Magazine titles. The English-born player aspires to championship glory and is steadfast in his belief that his moment under the sun has finally arrived. Although Catterall marched past SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, with a smile on her face, by the end of the night it had been wiped clean.
Taylor confidently strode to the center of the ring as the opening bell rang but was quickly tripped up by a powerful backhand from Catterall. As a result, Taylor suffered a marked concussion, stumbling halfway across the ring. Even when Taylor was momentarily stunned, Catterall didn’t rush in. He calmly executes the stab from the outside and keeps his distance when necessary.
With a little motivation, Catterall keeps things moving in the moment. He slowly moved around the ring, playing matador with Taylor’s bull. With every missed shot, Catterall cost his men. Taylor had no answer as Catterall continued to beat his men. When the clock flashed a few seconds left in time, Catterall connected with two combo punches before the bell rang.
In the third round, Taylor managed to get his mojo to go up. He threw Catterall with a clean right hand, shoving his body into the ropes. In the end, the undisputed 140-pound player continued his belligerence. He attacks his obligatory challenger with ropes and finds success with the speed of work focused on the body.
As the midpoint of their contest passed, both men seemed to exchange several rounds. However, sometimes, Taylor falls into a lull and allows herself to be more cheerful. In particular, in the seventh season, Catterall destroyed Taylor with a combination of four punches.
In a change of pace in the eighth round, Catterall held his ground in the center of the ring and connected with another eye-catching combination. As a result, Taylor took to the deck for the first time in her career. While he was clearly flustered, Taylor fought back in the innings to make things work.
At various times throughout their contest, referee Marcus McDonnell repeatedly intervened to halt action. In the ninth game, Catterall got points deducted for holding too much. An energetically reincarnated Taylor ramped up his aggression in the tenth, leaving a lasting impression on Catterall as he spent most of his time covering up.
Taylor appeared to make it through to the penultimate round with another solid working rate. However, in a consistent thread, referee Marcus McDonnell deducted a point from Taylor due to him hitting his man well after the bell.
With Taylor’s home title defense nearing, as well as Catterall’s championship dream looming, both men fought hard in the final stages. When their contest ended, both raised their hands in victory.
It took a few minutes for all three judges to hand over their scorecards but when they did, the crowd cheered as Taylor was handed a decisive win. Judge Howard Foster believes long-distance fighter Jack Catterall did just enough to win, handing out a scorecard of 113-112. He was ultimately defeated by Ian John-Lewis, who gave Taylor the nod 114-111, as well as Victor Loughlin, who saw it 113-112 in Taylor’s favor.
