Josh Taylor defends his status as an undisputed world champion against Jack Catterall tonight
(Picture: Lawrence Lustig / BOXXER)Josh Taylor fights Jack Catterall in Glasgow tonight as he looks to maintain his status as an undisputed world champion.
The ‘Tartan Tornado’ made history as the first British boxer to unify a whole division in the four-belt era last May, rising to the occasion with two knockdowns en route to a deserved decision win over the previously undefeated American Jose Ramirez in Las Vegas.
In the process, Taylor added the WBC and WBO belts to his own WBA, IBF, and The Ring super-lightweight titles. Not since his hero Ken Buchanan in 1971 had Scotland had an undisputed world boxing champion, while he is only the fifth man ever to do it in the four-belt era.
While so much of the talk is about Taylor potentially moving up to welterweight for a huge showdown with WBO king Terence Crawford, the 31-year-old cannot afford to take his eye off the ball on Saturday night.
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW TAYLOR VS CATTERALL LIVE
English WBO mandatory challenger Catterall - AKA ‘El Gato’ - is unbeaten in 26 fights and a former British and Inter-Continental light-welterweight champion who insists he has figured out the blueprint for stopping Taylor in his tracks.
Taylor vs Catterall date, start time, venue and ring walks
Taylor vs Catterall takes place today, on Saturday February 26, 2022 at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.
The main undercard is due to get underway at 7pm GMT, with the main event no earlier than 10pm.
As ever, exact timings will depend on the length of those preliminary bouts.
Taylor vs Catterall fight card/undercard in full
Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall
Bilal Fawaz vs Malam Varela
Erik Nazaryan vs Scott Forrest
Robeisy Ramirez vs Eric Donovan
Nick Campbell vs Jay McFarlane
Ebonie Jones vs Effy Kathopouli
John Docherty vs Jordan Grant
Paddy Donovan vs Miroslav Serban
Kurt Walker vs Jaroslav Hriadel
Kieran Molloy vs Damian Esquisabel
Mark McKeown vs Engel Gomez
How to watch Taylor vs Catterall
TV channel: Tonight’s event is being shown live on Sky Sports, with coverage beginning on Action from 7pm and Main Event at 8pm.
Live stream: Fight fans can also watch the action online via the Sky Go app.
Live blog: You can also follow Taylor vs Catterall and the entire undercard LIVE with Standard Sport’s dedicated fight night blog.
Taylor vs Catterall weigh-in
Taylor and Catterall weighed in on Friday afternoon, with Taylor bang on 10st and his opponent slightly lighter at 9st 13lbs 5oz.
Tempers boiled over again in the final face-off, with the duo butting heads and Catterall then putting his hands around Taylor’s neck before they had to be separated by security.
“All I’m thinking about is Jack Catterall,” said Taylor. “He’s trying to take away what I’ve worked so hard to get. I’ve cleaned out the division. He’s getting a shot at the jackpot in one fight. I’m going to put him in his place on Saturday.
“He’s good. We’ll find out on Saturday, but he’s in for a long night. A long, painful methodical beatdown on Saturday. I don’t see a way that he can beat me in this fight. I don’t know how he’s going to do it, but I’m prepared for every way. Whatever he brings, I’m more than prepared for.”
Catterall said: “I’ve been mandatory for the WBO title. After waiting two years, I’ve got a chance now to capture the undisputed. I’ve not just come up here to make up the numbers. I’ve been waiting two years for this opportunity.
“I think the respect has been there. Josh and I know that the respect is out of the window once the bell goes. We can shake hands after. We’re going to punch each other’s heads in, and that’s it.”
Taylor vs Catterall prediction
Catterall talks a good game but will surely be overwhelmed and quickly out of his depth in this battle of the southpaws.
Taylor is a smart, calculated and ultra-talented fighter who should be much too strong for Lancashire’s El Gato, who has not fought since outpointing Frenchman Abderrazak Houya in London in November 2020.
Catterall won’t lack spirit and determination, but we foresee a heavily one-sided contest that ends with a stoppage in the mid-rounds, likely caused by the same sort of devastating left hand that Ramirez just could not cope with in Vegas last year.
The only way Taylor slips up here is if he has become guilty of looking too far ahead at those potential money-spinning showdowns against the likes of Crawford, but that seems very unlikely.
Taylor by KO in round six.
Taylor vs Catterall betting odds
Taylor: 1/14
Catterall: 13/2
Draw: 22/1
Taylor by decision/technical decision: 13/8
Taylor by KO, TKO or DQ: 8/11
Catterall by decision/technical decision: 12/1
Catterall by KO, TKO or DQ: 14/1
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
