Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall 2 Fight Results: Catterall Earns UD

Catterall (29-1, 13 KOs), 30, from Chorley near Manchester, England, had a bright opening. Both fighters set a feverish pace from the onset, but Catterall was more impressive. He kept Taylor at bay with his southpaw jab and connected with a left hook that knocked him back on his feet midway through the round.

Time was called with 1:13 left in the second round when Taylor and Catterall clashed heads. Both men turned away in pain, but they escaped unscathed. When time resumed, Catterall’s in-and-out movement confused Taylor, who was on the receiving end of a crisp combination at the end of the frame.

The third round kicked off with another accidental headbutt, with Taylor turning around and covering his face with his glove. Once again, both men emerged without any cuts. With 1:49 left, the fight erupted into a war, with Taylor landing a hard left hand that caused Catterall’s left orbital bone to swell. However, Catterall also countered Taylor coming in with a series of hard shots that caused swelling around his right eye. Catterall responded with a stronger performance in round 4, connecting with a one-two combination that stopped Taylor in his tracks.

Catterall threw with bad intentions to start round five as he popped Taylor consistently with the jab and tried to follow up with a variety of power punches. With 1:46 left in the round, a right-left combination hurt Taylor, but Catterall took his foot off the gas and allowed his man to get a breather. However, in the final seconds of the round, Catterall landed a series of right hands to the body and followed up with a big right hand that drove Taylor into the ropes.  After overcoming some difficult moments in round six, Taylor fought well in the seventh and dictated the pace. He connected with a series of hard left crosses on Catterall and hurt him to the body late in the round.

The tide of the fight shifted in Taylor’s favor as he continued hammering Catterall to the body in the eighth, causing him to breathe heavily throughout. Catterall, though, responded with a solid round nine as he backed up Taylor with combinations to the head and a right hand downstairs.

With six minutes to go and presumably close on the cards, Taylor and Catterall came out of their respective corners with a sense of urgency to start round 11. Catterall hurt Taylor, whose right eye was nearly shut, with a blistering left hand from hell. However, Catterall gave him another breather when he threw him down to the canvas.

Taylor (19-2, 13 KOs), a 33-year-old southpaw from Haddington, a town in East Lothian, Scotland, connected with a left uppercut to start the 12th and final round. Catterall came back with some short lefts to the body on the inside. Fatigue began to set in in the final minute, but they were still throwing bombs. They slugged it out to the final bell, with Taylor landing one last left hand.

Although the scores appeared to be wider than most had anticipated, the overall consensus around the sport was that justice was served on this night for Jack Catterall.

Cheavon Clarke Had An Impressive 8th Round Knockout Over Ellis Zorro

In the co-main event, Jamaican-born cruiserweight Cheavon Clarke (9-0, 7 KOs) looked sensational in an eighth-round knockout of Ellis Zorro (17-2, 7 KOs) to win the British version of the 200-pound title. The 31-year-old Zorro made a poor decision in the eighth round when he taunted Clarke, 33, with his right glove, urging him to come forward and bring the heat. Seconds later, Clarke drilled Zorro with a right cross and knocked him out.