Taylor vs Catterall 2 Feature: Josh Taylor ‘In Focus’

Now, almost one year after his loss to Lopez, Taylor is back and will rematch Catterall in Leeds, England, on May 25. At the time of writing, remarkably, the bout is still listed as being contested at 140 pounds. After two below-par outings, Taylor has plenty of questions to answer on Saturday night. He also needs to beat Catterall conclusively to put the controversy of their first fight behind him.

Taylor Struggled Badly Against Catterall in Glasgow

Looking back at Taylor’s showing in the first bout with Catterall isn’t easy viewing for his fans.

The only positive thing they can take from the fight is that he somehow showed something resembling his usual self in the final four rounds of the contest. By that point, though, he had been knocked down and thoroughly outboxed. Post-fight, it came to light in the fantastic Josh Taylor: Portrait of a Fighter documentary that training camp had not gone well. A knee injury put the brakes on much of Taylor’s preparation, and making weight seemed to be rushed in the final days. The relationship between fighter and trainer Ben Davison appeared to be disintegrating.

It all added up to a night where Taylor struggled to gain any real foothold in a fight he was heavily favored to win before the opening bell rang. He toiled against Catterall’s distance control and counter-punches. He couldn’t do anything about the rough tactics Catterall employed to nullify any notion of Taylor even attaining a modicum of momentum at any point during the first eight rounds.

Facing off against a fellow southpaw appeared to be another difficult aspect of the fight for Taylor. We didn’t see Taylor getting behind his jab and then working to create angles inside. Instead, we saw a boxer who looked poor defensively, allowing his opponent to land his jab at will. In a few days, Taylor will be in front of Catterall again. This time, most of the crowd will be English and likely will be roaring Catterall on. Can the Scotsman change the recent trajectory of his career with an away win?

Taylor’s Keys To Victory

It is obvious to say, but Taylor needs to be fully fit to give his best this weekend. Hopefully, the weight cut was done correctly, and this won’t be a subject mentioned after the fight.

In terms of boxing, Taylor needs to be more defensively responsible than he was against Catterall in Glasgow. A basic policy of keeping his guard high instead of holding his hands as low as he did in the first fight would be a good place to start. From there, the fight must take place in closer quarters for Taylor to succeed. He will need to negotiate Catterall’s attempts to hold and make it untidy on the inside – the best way to do this is to box his way in behind a consistent jab. That could open up opportunities for Taylor to work on Catterall’s body. On his rise to the top, Taylor was regarded as one of boxing’s best body punchers. Fans of the Scottish southpaw will want to see him return to that method of attack. Taylor will expect Catterall to be in counter-punching mode, so he should feint often and use plenty of variety in how he times his attacks. This would take Catterall out of his comfort zone.

This all sounds easy in theory; in practice, against a seasoned operator, it will be anything but. It all comes back to the initial point of Taylor being well enough prepared and having the engine to fight with high intensity for 12 rounds after boiling down to 140 pounds once again.

The Weighty Issue and Other Questions

Not to labor the point, but the weight really is the key to this bout for Taylor. After mentioning that he had stepped up after his previous two poor performances, it is such a surprise to see that Taylor has decided to punish his body once more by contesting this rematch at super lightweight. If he looks poor again, then deciding to go to the well at 140 once more will be hard to justify. If he looks awful, there may be speculation about retirement in certain quarters.

Taylor had a mesmeric run to the top of his weight division from 2018-2021. His wins over Viktor Postol, Ivan Baranchyk, Regis Prograis, and Jose Ramirez were all extremely hard-fought, and he left a little piece of himself in the ring after each of those fights. Even prior to that, Taylor was matched hard at every turn to ensure he would be ready to beat the best in his division when the time came. It worked, but his 20-bout career has taken a toll. Saturday will tell us definitively how far into the back nine of his professional campaign he is.

In the last two and a half years, Taylor has had knee, foot, and eye issues. As mentioned, the knee hampered his preparation in the first Catterall fight, while the foot injury forced a planned March 2023 rematch to be canceled. An eye procedure earlier this year pushed this fight back from April to May. It feels like a hard career is catching up to the Scotsman. If that is the case, then he may struggle against Catterall again. On the other hand, if he is refreshed and feeling good about his weight, there is a chance we may see some Josh Taylor vintage on Saturday.

The war of words has been intense. Can Taylor bring the same level of intensity to the ring in Leeds? If he can, he can prove plenty of doubters wrong. If not, it could be another long night for him. We will find out on May 25.