Kicking off the fight week for their rematch, Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall went face to face at First Direct Arena in Leeds, England. The old rivals square off in the main event live on DAZN on Saturday, May 25.
Taylor and Catterall first met in February 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland. The then undisputed 140-pound champion of Scotland defeated the English challenger via controversial split decision after 12 rounds.
In his following outing last June, 33-year-old Josh Taylor (19-1, 13 KOs) dropped a unanimous decision against Teofimo Lopez. 30-year-old Jack Catterall (28-1, 13 KOs) got back in the win column, defeating Darragh Foley and Jorge Linares by UD last May and October, respectively.
“Both guys are experienced. Josh is hot-headed but Jack in this instance is also hot-headed because of how he feels about Josh Taylor,” promoter Eddie Hearn said. “Both very experienced, but like I said, a cauldron of noise, a cauldron of tension and a bundle of hatred goes into this fight.”
“I think you will get a different type of fight this time. Firstly, it was cagey, it was smart and they were tricky. This time around I think you’ll see them engage a lot more. Both are a little bit more long in the tooth now. They don’t want to go the 12 rounds. They want to go in there and have a tear-up. That’s why I think it will be a great fight.”
Both fighters make their first ring appearance for the year. The rematch is scheduled for 12 rounds at super lightweight.
In the feature to Taylor vs Catterall 2, Cheavon Clarke (8-0, 6 KOs) and Ellis Zorro (17-1, 7 KOs) battle it out for the vacant British cruiserweight title. Among other bouts, Gary Cully (17-1, 10 KOs) of Ireland and Francesco Patera (29-4, 11 KOs) of Belgium clash at lightweight. Plus, Irish southpaw Paddy Donovan (13-0, 10 KOs) goes up against British Lewis Ritson (23-3, 13 KOs) at welterweight.
