The Beltline: Can a boxer be awarded the title of “Boxer of the Year” despite not officially winning this year?

WANT it, if only to get rid of the bitterness that has lingered since February, I’ve been waiting all year to see a better British performance than Jack Catterall’s performance against Josh Taylor in the 10th super light last month. But, alas, despite my patience, it never came.

Stuck with the taste, as well as the memories of how wonderful Catterall looked that night in Glasgow, the feeling of disappointment returned to enjoyment this week as I tried to make a list of “The British warrior of the year” potential for boxing news’ the first number of 2023 and realize that Catterall, with the (official) 0-1 score this year, is unlikely to appear on it. Not at number one. Not in number two. Not even in 10th place.

Or, again, maybe he can recommend – and maybe he Candlestick feature. After all, what happened that miserable February night in Scotland was not Jack Catterall’s fault. In that regard, it’s not Josh Taylor’s either. It’s boxing’s fault, that’s all. That said, there’s no other sport where you’ll watch a winning performance as impressive as Catterall’s only to be told at the end of the performance that what you’ve really done. witness is a loser Performance. It’s a whole new kind of brainwashing; a form of sparking found only in the most volatile and toxic relationships.

In fact, one could argue that watching boxing, and especially a bout like Catterall vs. Taylor, is basically watching a story unfold only to be told at the conclusion that what you’ve seen is completely different from what you’ve seen with your own eyes. Do you believe you watched. “No, sir, that is not Toy Story III,” you might be told by your guide on your way out of the cinema. “It is in fact Mage III.”

Taylor and Catterall fight (Lawrence Lustig)

Back in April, when I needed a game or performance to rekindle my faltering passion for sport, Catterall did it and then a few other things. He, is entering that title showdown with Taylor, a significantly underdog, relatively unproven and considered no match for his decorated Scottish opponent; someone whose stock has only skyrocketed since turning pro; a man who has every right to call himself Britain’s best heavyweight boxer.

Indeed, much of the initial excitement to see Catterall stand his ground with Taylor and give his all was probably due to this: the fact that he was the underdog, the fact that no one anticipated it. get that, the fact that he’s competitive. But then, after that period of fighting, once Catterall had established his upper hand (and, make no mistake, that’s exactly what he did), seeing him move on. Continuity of his business becomes less shocking and more interesting, privileged. For at the time, this dominance was not only unexpected, but was also established by a performance rarely seen in the British ring: one filled with clever traps, smart moves, beautiful counter-attacks. and above all a challenger showing courage to beat his opponent at his own game.

For me, watching from television, it’s a little bit of everything. It has everything you’d want to see in a performance from a purist’s point of view, as well as enough drama and potential for it all to go awry to leave even the average person scratching their heads. invest in action. In fact, all that was needed was when the 12 rounds were over, that the right decision was made and Jack Catterall’s arm raised in victory. Then, and only then, can we all go home happily; It was a pleasure to receive confirmation that what we had just witnessed, according to the three judges in the ring, was an outstanding boxing match that we were all certain we had witnessed.

Sadly, however, and not for the first time in the sport, two of the three judges saw something different that night, making Catterall versus Taylor no longer a good boxing showdown. 2022 but instead, at least in the UK, the most serious decisions are seen in this calendar year. Worse than that, it’s the effort he’s put in, and that’s the severity of the match and all that is at stake, this petty crime perpetrated on Catterall carries more weight. much more than the crime committed against a boxer competing somewhere – or conversely, a boxer with a name and reputation whose key to a rematch lies in the money they have can bring to the table. For Catterall, who waited patiently for his chance, that was it. This is his moment. His only chance. He knew, if it didn’t work, it might never come again.

This feeling is further exacerbated by his personality – quiet, quiet, humble – and the fact that in this day and age, warriors and men like Jack Catterall are so easily overlooked. via. For example, he is not the type to blow his own trumpet, beat his own drum, or make a fuss when he wants to win a title or when, in that very title stroke, he is blindly robbed. In other words, he is the type of fighter who suffers defeat like this and then, having shown his danger in the fight itself, never gets another chance to (a) correct or (b) ) beat another champion for a different belt.

Fears of this happening to Catterall were not allayed by the Sky Sports team’s reaction to the ruling (which, according to them, was moderately shocking and infuriating). Nor was it tempered by Josh Taylor’s post-match interview later that night, which was conducted with high emotion, fueled entirely by pride, stubbornness, and a desire to control. controlling the story that he can perceive, even then, does not reflect him in the best way.

Josh Taylor (Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)

Thankfully, though, right at the moment Taylor, a true champion, came up with the idea of ​​a rematch with Catterall. Not only that, he’s decided to stay in ultralightweight, the division he’s been so desperate to leave after Catterall, and give up on making it big in America, if only temporarily.

Edema.

This means that while Catterall has yet to get the February win he deserves at Christmas, as well as the belts he deserves, he at least has one thing: hope. He hopes that things will be different the second time around (with the rematch set for March 4, 2023) and he also hopes that Taylor will be wowed by his performance. last time, which stunned almost everyone. him in the rematch will be even easier than at the beginning of 2022.

Of course, Taylor would object to that view. An accomplished fighter in his own right, he would claim that much of Catterall’s success in February – if he allows himself to admit anything – came from complacency and reluctance. his own compulsion to treat Catterall earlier as a threat. The truth is that he is seen as a significant step back from the likes of Regis Prograis and Jose Ramirez, two men with whom Taylor has built his reputation in the ultralightweight division. He’s also considered someone Taylor can get a hold of, probably early on, and having a short night out.

The fact that this never happened comes as a surprise not only to those watching the game from afar, but perhaps Taylor as well. Maybe that’s why all he does during the night is fight hard in the beginning and then fight harder when he realizes fighting hard isn’t enough. Maybe that’s why he didn’t start his game until it was too late and he seemed to have lost too many innings.

Either way, we’ll never know. Only Josh Taylor knows why he found Jack Catterall such a difficult puzzle on February 26, and only Josh Taylor knows deep down whether he believes he won the match.

All of I you know what, having watched the 12 rounds they shared 10 months ago and watched all the other so-called great performances produced in the British five ring, nothing has stunned me like what Jack Catterall did before the odds inside SSE Hydro. Sure, Claressa Shields trained Savannah Marshall in typical swagger style, Joe Joyce juggled Joseph Parker in a logical defiance, Tyson Fury silenced Dillian Whyte with a smack from hell, and Leigh Wood and Michael Conlan offer enough violence to satisfy the bloodthirsty. However, in terms of pure boxing prowess, if you know boxing and you know what you’re watching, it’s nothing compared to what Jack Catterall did in 2022. Is not.

It’s a shame that the two extra referees are looking for something else. Or don’t look at all.