Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall Preview May 25th, 2024
The long-awaited rematch between former Undisputed Super Lightweight Champion Josh Taylor of Scotland and England’s Jack Catterall will be taking place this Saturday, May 25th. The 12-rounder from Leeds, England can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. The two originally met back in February, 2022 when Taylor was awarded a highly-controversial split decision win to hang onto his belts. Taylor was dropped in the eighth round in that battle and deducted a point in the 11th for punching after the bell while Catterall was deducted a point for holding in the 10th. Taylor then gave up the WBC, WBA and IBF Titles and lost the WBO Belt in his next fight when he dropped a unanimous decision to Teofimo Lopez last June and hasn’t fought since. Catterall last boxed in October when he beat former World Champion Jorge Linares via a 12-round unanimous decision to retain his WBA Inter-Continental Super Lightweight Belt.
Taylor vs Catterall Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Josh Taylor +120
- Jack Catterall -150
My Pick
The 33-year-old Taylor is a southpaw who won the IBF Super Lightweight Title in the World Boxing Super Series when he beat Ivan Baranchyk by unanimous decision in May, 2019 after dropping him twice in the sixth round. He added the WBA and WBC Diamond Titles to his collection five months later in the World Boxing Super Series finale against Regis Prograis when he took a majority decision. He then beat Jose Ramirez by unanimous decision in 2021 for the WBC and WBO Belts and dropped him along the way in the sixth and seventh rounds.
Taylor enters the ring with a perfect mark of 19-1 with 13 Ko’s and has boxed 127 rounds since turning pro in 2015. It’s evident Taylor carries decent power around with him as 68.4 per cent of his wins have come by way of stoppage but he’s gone the distance in five of his last six outings. Taylor stands 5-feet-10-inches tall with a wingspan of 69.5 inches and has also beaten Ryan Martin, Viktor Postol, Winston Campos, Miguel Vazquez and Ohara Davies.
The ‘Tartan Tornado’ Taylor has fought mainly in the UK with a couple of bouts in America. As an amateur, he won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in India in 2010 in the lightweight division and went 1-1 at the 2012 Olympics in London, England. He then won a gold medal at the 2012 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. He’s also been the Commonwealth Champion as a pro and has adapted well to the pro game due to his power and polished boxing skills.
The 30-year-old Catterall boasts a fine record of 28-1 with 13 Ko’s. He possesses average power with 46.4 per cent of his wins coming by stoppage and has gone the distance in seven of his last eight bouts. He’s boxed 194 rounds since making his pro debut in 2012. Before that he enjoyed a pretty good amateur career in which he reportedly went 48-18 and captured a CYP title and reached the final of the Junior ABA’s.
Since turning pro he’s won a few other regional and minor titles such as the BBBoC Central Area, WBO European, WBO Inter-Continental, and BBBoC British Super Lightweight Crowns. Catterall stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 69-inch reach which means he gives up three inches in height to Taylor. He stepped up in class in 2022 in the first fight with Taylor and proved he belonged with the best of the division.
His biggest wins up until then were against the likes of Nathan Brough, Thomas Stalker, Jarkko Putkonen, Jesus Rodriguez, Joe Hughes, Tyrone Nurse, Tyrone McKenna, Ohara Davies and Timo Schwarzkopf. After losing to Taylor he remained at the top level by beating Jorge Linares and also beat Darragh Foley by 10-round unanimous decision to win the vacant WBA Inter-Continental Super Lightweight Title but there’s no doubt Linares was in the twilight of his career when they squared off last year.
Prediction…
Taylor hasn’t looked that great in his last two fights against Catterall and Teofimo Lopez and arguably lost them both. He’s also been relatively inactive with just one fight a year since 2020 while Catterall fought twice last year. Taylor definitely has to prove his last two fights weren’t really representative of his skills while Catterall will be looking for a repeat performance of his first fight with Taylor. As long as Taylor learned something from that first fight and makes the necessary adjustments in the ring I think he’ll do just enough to beat Catterall once again.
Taylor is the more polished boxer overall and has more power.
Play Taylor +120 @ BetOnline.ag
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Jack Catterall betting • Josh Taylor betting