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Boxing

Josh Taylor grows tired of Jack Catterall, aiming ‘to shut him up’

Alexander Netherton
Josh Taylor grows tired of Jack Catterall, aiming ‘to shut him up’GettyImages

Unified junior welterweight world champion Josh Taylor hopes to end his dispute with Jack Catterall after the controversial result in the fight between the pair.

Taylor fought Catterall in a mandatory defence and many - including the challenger - believed the Englishman had done enough to become the new undisputed champion at 140lbs.

However, the judges scored the fight in favour of the incumbent to the surprise of some observers, as well as Catterall’s team. The defeated fighter is desperate for a rematch and has regularly complained of missing his shot at becoming champion. A second fight looked impossible as Taylor said he had struggled to make weight for the fight at the start of the year, and he would be moving up to welterweight in pursuit of bigger fight.

Now the Scotsman says he intends to remain at his current weight and will fight Jose Zepeda before moving onto Catterall.

"He's coming across a little bit desperate," Taylor said to Sky Sports. "I can understand where he comes from, he felt like he won the fight, I'd be disappointed as well.

"But I wouldn't be moaning and groaning the way he's going on and on, it's just ridiculous.

"I can understand how he's feeling, he felt like he won the fight, I felt like I did just enough to win the fight so it was a close fight, it could have gone either way, the judges gave it to me.

"The way he's acted since and the way he's coming across on social media makes me want to shut him up. It's one of the main reasons I stayed at 140 so I could get that fight."

Taylor continued, saying he would put in a more decisive performance in any rematch.

"I know it was a tight fight, it could have gone either way," he admitted. "If they'd have given it to Jack by a round or two then fine, fair enough, I'd have been absolutely gutted and lost my belts and things like that.

"The judges gave it to me and I felt like I did enough to win the fight, I said that to Catterall right after the bell went. I feel like I did just enough to win the fight and nobody can tell me any different, so I feel like I did the right job, just - although it was a very, very bad performance by myself.

"I was more frustrated at the way I boxed than anything, I was terrible that night."

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