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For Jack Catterall, history will never be rewritten but nor will it look back kindly on the last year of Josh Taylor’s career.
It was one of the most contentious decisions in modern British boxing when Taylor’s arm was lifted in Glasgow in February 2022. Jamie Moore, Catterall’s trainer, branded it “disgusting”. Boxxer’s Ben Shalom was similarly scathing: “An embarrassment.”
Almost immediately, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) said it would investigate the judges’ scoring. The Fight Disciples podcast raised the question of Daniel Kinahan’s influence in boxing, and in a surprise statement attributed to the Irish cartel leader, he insisted: “Where unethical and corrupt practice exists it’s important to expose it.
“I’m proud to represent Josh and Jack who are not only world class fighters but personal friends.
“I will answer any questions asked of me and it’s incumbent on others, advisors, managers, promoters, trainers and fighters to do the same.”
It felt an alarming throwback to the dark days of mob-run boxing.
Taylor, it should not be forgotten, was badly affected. Before the Catterall fight, he was widely considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in Britain, holding all four world titles.
Since then, due to mandatory commitments he has had to vacate the WBA, WBC and IBF belts, leaving him with just the WBO super-lightweight belt to defend against Teofimo Lopez tonight. Alberto Puello (WBA), Regis Prograis (WBC) and Subriel Matias (IBF) hold the straps now.
A Catterall rematch was shelved when Taylor suffered a “pretty bad injury”. It later emerged he had torn his foot. The Chorley fighter was so incensed by the perceived injustice that the pair nearly came to blows at ringside of Liam Smith vs Chris Eubank Jr.
Tensions with Lopez have been high too. Earlier this week Taylor walked out of a joint interview, accusing his opponent of talking “waffle”.
Indeed Lopez arrives with much to prove, steadily rebuilding after the end of his short reign as unified world lightweight champion, which lasted just one fight. The American failed to vindicate his shock victory over Vasyl Lomachenko and immediately followed it up with a split decision defeat to George Kambosos Jr.
Lopez’s great hope will be in facing a Taylor who is not ready. In the Catterall fight, he looked to be struggling with the weight and was nowhere near his typical, imposing self. The injury since then suggests this may have come too early, and while he remains the favourite, there are at least a few chinks in the tartan armour to give Lopez cause for optimism.
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Taylor vs Lopez
- Date: Saturday 10 June
- Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, USA
- Fight time: Ring walks for the main event are expected around 5am (UK time)
- TV/live stream: Sky Sports Action. You can stream on SkyGo or with a NOW 24-hour pass, which costs £11.99. Coverage starts from 2am (early hours of Sunday morning UK time).
- Undercard highlights: It’s not the most exciting card but Xander Zayas and Ronald Cruz are both well worth tuning into at super-welterweight – two big punchers with decent KO ratios.
- i predicts: Taylor to win by unanimous decision
Full card:
- Josh Taylor vs Teofimo Lopez
- Xander Zayas vs Ronald Cruz
- Henry Lebron vs Carlos Ramos
- Jamaine Ortiz vs Humberto Galindo
- Robson Conceicao vs Nicolas Polanco
- Omar Rosario vs Jan Carlos Rivera
- Damian Knyba vs Helaman Olguin
- Bruce Carrington vs Luis Porozo
Edwards vs Campos
Sunny Edwards believes he is the most dodged of the active world champions at any weight.
Tonight, the IBF flyweight defends his belt against Chilean Andres Campos, but it represents more than another world title fight.
It is Edwards’ first fight since signing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom, having previously competed under the Probellum banner (Probellum consistently denied links to Kinahan but ceased operations earlier this year).
With Hearn onside, Edwards would have liked to have been facing WBC champion Julio Cesar Martinez or WBO champion Jesse Rodriguez. He insists neither will fight him, leaving him to face Campos.
Campos has won regional and national belts but holds no world titles and Edwards is expected to be too quick for him. Ultimately, the goal is to unify the division before stepping up but to do that, Rodriguez or Martinez has to happen first. Edwards is adamant that won’t wait much longer.
“There’s nowhere for the other champions to hide now.”
- Date: Saturday 10 June
- Venue: Wembley Arena, London, UK
- Fight time: Ring walks for the main event are expected around 10pm (UK time)
- TV/live stream: DAZN, where subscriptions start from £9.99 a month. While it’s pay-per-view in the US and Canada UK fans will have it included in their monthly package
- Undercard highlights: Ellie Scotney finally gets her IBF title challenge after she was pulled from Katie Taylor’s recent undercard, allegedly because of trainer Shane McGuigan’s previous history with Taylor’s opponent Chantelle Cameron. Meanwhile “Romford Bull” Johnny Fisher will bring a huge following with him – Hearn has suggested he could become the biggest British attraction since Ricky Hatton – as he looks to register a ninth win of his professional career against Emilio Salas. He’s won all but one of his fights so far by knockout. Nina Hughes defends her WBA bantamweight title against Katie Healy and Cheavon Clarke vs David Jamieson is a title eliminator for the British cruiserweight title.
- i predicts: Edwards to win by unanimous decision
Full card:
- Sunny Edwards vs Andres Campos
- Johnny Fisher vs Emiio Salas
- Cherneka Johnson vs Ellie Scotney
- Cheavon Clarke vs David Jamieson
- Nina Hughes vs Katie Healy
- Youssef Khoumari vs Reece Bellotti
- George Liddard vs Nikolas Dzurnak
- Shannon Ryan vs Martina Bernile
- Muhammad Mustafa Ali vs Bryan Castro
Any other business
- WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman has confirmed Tyson Fury will be given a mandatory challenger for his heavyweight title soon.
- Devin Haney could soon move up from undisputed lightweight champion to super-lightweight, with Prograis in the firing line.
- Leigh Wood may be able to avoid mandatory challenger Otabek Kholmatov and hop straight to Josh Warrington after defeating Mauricio Lara in his recent rematch.
- It looks increasingly like 12 August will be the date for Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Dillian Whyte.
